Russian Vareniki and Pelmeni

In many cuisines you can find something that looks like dumplings. In Russian cuisine we have pelmeni or vareniki. They are called pierogi in Poland, wonton in China, khinkali in Georgia and ravioli in Italy. In this post I'll explain the difference and give a recipe that I use all the time.

What's the difference?

Pelmeni are dumplings with meat, often with onions. Usually served with sour cream, mayo or ketchup. They can also be grilled. It is believed that it is originally a dish of Ural cuisine (Ural is a region in Central Russia). "It is suggested they started off as an adaptation of the Chinese wonton, brought into Siberia and the Urals by the Mongols".

Photos: https://theculturetrip.com/europe/russia/articles/whats-the-difference-between-pelmeni-vareniki-and-pierogi/

Vareniki (also called Pierogi in Eastern Europe) can be a main dish or a desert. There are a lot of different kinds of vareniki; they can be with cottage cheese, red fruits, mashed potatoes, in some regions even with cabbage, mushrooms. It is easy to see what dumplings are vareniki and what are pelmeni.

If you'd like to read more on this difference, check out this article https://theculturetrip.com/europe/russia/articles/whats-the-difference-between-pelmeni-vareniki-and-pierogi/

Recipe:

To help you understand better how they are cooked, here is a video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-0pbDfeDYs

The recipe I use for the dough is following:

- 2.5 glasses of flour

- 2 eggs

- 100ml of milk

- 100ml of water

- spoon of salt

- spoon of sugar

- olive oil 2 spoons

For vareniki with cottage cheese - 500g of cottage cheese

For vareniki with raspberries or cherries 500g of these fruits

When making vareniki with any fruits, especially raspberries and cherries, make sure to put them in a colander so the juice would not stay with the berries.

The most interesting part of making vareniki is when you have to close them. Here is a picture that explains it:

Photo: http://testosam.ru/pelmeni/kak-lepit-vareniki.html

The best thing about pelmeni or vareniki is that you can make around 50-100 of them and freeze them on a plate. Then, when you have no time for cooking, just cook them for 10-15 min.