HISTORY OF PELMENI

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Pelmeni is a national Eastern European (mainly Russian) dish usually made with minced meat filling, wrapped in thin dough (made out of flour, eggs, optional milk or water might be added). For filling, any kind of meat (pork, lamb, beef, or any other) can be used, mixing several kinds is also popular. By traditional Ural recipe, pelmeni filling is made with 45% of beef, 35% of lamb, and 20% of pork. Various spices, such as pepper, onions, and garlic, can also be mixed into Pelmeni filling.

Pelmeni belong to the family of dumplings and are close relatives to Vareniki, Ukrainian variety of dumplings with filling made of mashed potatoes or cottage cheese. Pelmeni are also similar to Chinese Potstickers.

The origin of pelmeni is not clear, and many versions exist.

The most widely accepted one is that they were discovered in the Ural Mountains by Russian explorers and pioneers who found that a similar dish (called pelnyan - literally "bread ear" in the native language) consisted of pieces of meat wrapped in very thin bread was being used by native people.

By other sources, pelmeni were invented by hunters looking for light, easy-to-prepare and nourishing food to take with them in long hunting trips, and pelmeni are perfect for this purpose as they can be kept frozen for a very long period of time without any loss of quality or flavor, and the water they are boiled in makes a pretty good soup.

In any case, pelmeni are documented to exist in central Russia by the 15-th century.