How to cook khinkali correctly and tasty at home without having any special skills.

Khinkali is one of the most popular dishes of Georgian national cuisine. In essence, khinkali are the closest relatives of the same dumplings. Also meat filling, wrapped in unleavened dough, is also boiled in boiling water. But, there are a number of features that distinguish khinkali from their counterparts.

Firstly, for the filling, mutton and beef are traditionally used in equal proportions. Secondly, a large amount of onions and fresh cilantro are put into the filling, and meat broth is also added to make the khinkali juicy. Thirdly, all the ingredients for the filling are not passed through a meat grinder, but are manually chopped with a knife. In addition, khinkali differ in their shape and size. When molding, the edges of the khinkali are folded like an accordion, and the folds should be even and neat. Khinkali are quite large, usually a portion for one person consists of only three to four pieces.

Recipe number 1. Khinkali - a classic recipe

First of all, we will tell you in detail how real Georgian khinkali are prepared according to the classic recipe. At first glance, the process may seem complicated, but if you strictly follow the instructions below, you will prepare a delicious dish, even if you do not have enough experience in culinary business.
To prepare khinkali according to the classic recipe, you need the following ingredients:
1. Lamb - 200 grams.
2. Beef - 150 grams.
3. Onions - 4 medium sized heads.
4. Meat broth - 100 ml.
5. Wheat flour of the highest grade - 2 cups.
6. Chicken eggs - 1 piece.
7. Salt, black pepper, spices and seasonings to taste.
Cooking instructions:
1. First of all, let's start making dough for our khinkali. Sift wheat flour with a pinch of salt into a deep bowl, make a hole in the center. Heat the water a little in the microwave. We break a chicken egg into the hole and begin to gradually pour in a little warm water. We begin to knead the dough with our hands, adding flour or water as needed. The dough should be soft, elastic and not tight. We form a ball from the dough, wrap it in cling film and leave it to rest.
2. While our dough is resting, let's prepare the filling for the khinkali. Pre-defrost the meat, rinse it under running water, dry it with paper towels, remove all films and streaks. Cut the meat into small pieces, send it to the bowl of a food processor and grind it. You can use a meat grinder or blender for this. Peel the onions, rinse and chop finely, you can also use a combine. In a deep bowl, combine chopped meat, finely chopped onion, add salt, black pepper and spices to taste. Pour in the prepared meat broth and mix everything until a homogeneous mass is obtained.
3. Put the rested dough on the work surface of the table, lightly sprinkled with flour. Roll out the dough into a thin layer, cut out circles with a saucer or glass. Put a teaspoon of meat filling in the center of each circle, raise the edges and fold them, forming neat folds. Pinch the dough tightly in the center.
4. Pour cold water into a saucepan, put on fire. We dip the khinkali in boiling water, stir so that the products do not stick together. After the water boils again and the khinkali float up, cook for another couple of minutes and take out the finished khinkali using a slotted spoon.
We lay out khinkali on portioned plates and serve hot, sprinkle with sour cream and sprinkle with finely chopped fresh herbs.

Recipe number 2. Khinkali at home

Traditionally, the filling for khinkali is made from minced meat and a large amount of onions. And we offer you a recipe for khinkali stuffed with minced meat with the addition of bread crumb and fresh herbs. It turns out very tasty and home-style.
To make khinkali at home, you need the following ingredients:

2. Water - 1 glass.
3. Beef - 150 grams.
4. Pork - 150 grams.
5. Fresh greens of cilantro - 1 bunch.
6. Onions - 1 medium-sized head.
7. White bread or loaf - 1 slice.
8. Milk - 100 ml.
9. Meat broth - 50 ml.
10. Salt, black pepper, spices and seasonings to taste.
Cooking instructions:
1. Peel the onions, rinse and cut into quarters. Pre-defrost the meat, rinse and cut into small pieces. Soak a slice of bread in milk, then squeeze out a little. We scroll everything through a meat grinder.
2. Rinse fresh cilantro and chop finely, add to the minced meat. We also add meat broth, salt, pepper and spices to taste, mix everything thoroughly until smooth.
3. Now let's start preparing the dough. Sift the wheat flour into a deep bowl, add a pinch of salt. We begin to gradually pour in warm water. Knead the elastic dough with your hands and roll it into a ball. We leave the dough to rest a little, and then put it on the work surface of the table, lightly sprinkled with flour. Roll out the dough thinly and cut out circles about ten centimeters in diameter.
4. You can start forming khinkali. Put a little filling in the center of each circle, lift and pinch the edges. Boil khinkali in boiling salted water until tender.
Home-style khinkali are ready! Bon Appetit!

Recipe number 3. Gentle khinkali

Properly prepared khinkali are very juicy by themselves. But if you add one secret ingredient to the filling, then they will turn out to be incredibly tender and melt in your mouth. Try it, you will definitely like it!
To prepare tender khinkali, you will need the following ingredients:
1. Wheat flour of the highest grade - 2 cups.
2. Beef - 200 grams.
3. Pork - 150 grams.
5. Milk cream - 100 ml.
6. Salt, black pepper, spices and seasonings to taste.
Cooking instructions:
1. Sift wheat flour into a bowl, add a little salt, mix. We make a small depression and start pouring warm water in a thin stream. Knead soft elastic dough with your hands. It shouldn't be too tight. We form a ball from the resulting dough, leave it to rest for a while.
2. Defrost the meat, rinse it under running water, dry it and cut it into small pieces. Peel the onions, rinse and cut into quarters. Pass the onion with meat through a meat grinder. Pour milk cream into the resulting minced meat, add salt. Ground black pepper, spices and seasonings to taste. Mix everything thoroughly until a homogeneous consistency is obtained.
3. Put the rested dough on the work surface of the table, sprinkled with flour, roll it out into a thin layer. Cut out the circles using a glass. Put the filling in the middle of each circle, raise the edges, pinch tightly, forming folds. Now we boil khinkali in boiling water and serve hot, watering with sour cream.
Gentle khinkali are ready! Bon Appetit!

Recipe number 4. Khinkali with mushrooms

Of course, this recipe is very far from the classic one, but experiments in the kitchen have not yet been canceled. Khinkali with mushrooms turns out to be very tasty and no less satisfying than with traditional meat filling.
To prepare khinkali with mushrooms, you need the following ingredients:
1. Wheat flour of the highest grade - 3 cups.
2. Chicken eggs - 2 pieces.
3. Water - 400 ml.
4. Fresh champignons - 500 grams.
5. Onions - 2 medium sized heads.
6. Vegetable oil for the arch.
7. Butter for serving.
8. Fresh parsley or cilantro to taste.
9. Salt, black pepper, spices and seasonings to taste.
Cooking instructions:
1. Sift wheat flour into a bowl, add a pinch of salt, mix. In a separate bowl, beat the chicken eggs with a whisk, combine them with water. Gradually pour the liquid mixture into the flour. We begin to knead the dough. The dough should be elastic and not sticky to your hands. We form a ball from the dough and leave it to rest while the filling is being prepared.
2. Rinse fresh champignons under running water, dry and chop finely. Peel the onions, rinse and chop finely. Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan, put the chopped onion first, fry until transparent. Then add the mushrooms, mix, fry until the liquid evaporates completely. Add salt, black pepper and mix. The filling is ready.
3. Roll out the rested dough thinly, cut out circles from it. If it turned out not thin enough, then additionally roll out each circle, then put a little mushroom filling in the center, pinch the edges with folds. Boil khinkali in salted boiling water for ten minutes.
Ready-made khinkali are served hot, sprinkled with melted butter and sprinkled with finely chopped herbs.
Khinkali with mushrooms are ready! Bon Appetit!

Recipe number 5. Khinkali with pumpkin

Another interesting variation on the theme of khinkali. This time with pumpkin filling, it turns out a very unusual and tasty dish.
To make khinkali with pumpkin, you need the following ingredients:
1. Wheat flour - 300 grams.
2. Vegetable oil - 2 tablespoons.
3. Pumpkin - 300 grams.
4. Onions - 1 medium-sized head.
5. Lard - 50 grams.
6. Salt, black pepper to taste.
Cooking instructions:
1. Sift flour into a bowl, salt and gradually pour in water. Add vegetable oil, start kneading the dough with your hands. Knead the dough for at least ten minutes, then leave to rest.
2. To prepare the filling, peel the pumpkin from the peel and seeds, cut the pulp into small pieces. Peel the onions, rinse and chop finely. We also finely chop the bacon. We combine all the ingredients, salt to taste, mix.
3. Roll out the dough into a thin layer, cut out circles, in the center of each of which we put a little filling. Raise the edges and twist tightly. Cook khinkali in salted boiling water until tender.
Khinkali with pumpkin are ready!

Recipe number 6. Khinkali with chicken and cheese

Khinkali stuffed with minced chicken and cheese will perfectly diversify your daily menu and will decorate every table.
To prepare khinkali with chicken and cheese, you will need the following ingredients:
1. Wheat flour - 500 grams.
2. Water - 1 glass.
3. Chicken eggs - 1 piece.
4. Chicken fillet - 400 grams.
5. Hard cheese - 100 grams.
6. Meat broth - 50 ml.
7. Salt, black pepper to taste.
8. Onions - 1 medium-sized head.
Cooking instructions:
1. Sift the poppy seeds together with a pinch of salt into a deep bowl. We break a chicken egg into the same bowl and begin to gradually pour in water. Knead a homogeneous elastic dough with your hands, form a ball out of it and leave it to lie down for a while.
2. Pre-defrost chicken fillet, rinse and cut into small pieces. Peel the onions and cut them into quarters. We pass the onion and meat through a meat grinder. You can grind everything in a food processor or with a blender. Add salt, black pepper and meat broth to the resulting minced meat. Rub the cheese on a coarse grater. We send it to a bowl with minced meat, mix everything thoroughly until a homogeneous mass is obtained.
3. Put the dough on the table, sprinkled with flour, roll it into a thin layer, use a glass to cut out the circles. We roll each circle separately, put a little filling in the middle, raise and twist the edges tightly. In a saucepan, bring salted water to a boil, lower the khinkali, stir, cook for fifteen minutes.
We take out the finished khinkali with a slotted spoon and serve hot.
Khinkali with chicken and cheese are ready! Bon Appetit!