Pierogi ( known as dumplings Dumplings) is a traditional Polish dinner dish, not only delicious but also filling. Dumplings are considered labor-intensive, and sometimes pretty difficult to make at home because the perfect dough must stick together well so that the stuffing does not flow out during cooking. However, dumplings offer great opportunities for experimenting, as you can produce the best stuffing idea for dumplings yourself from your favorite ingredients. We present the history of pierogi and interesting pierogi from the world because pierogi are eaten not only in Poland.
Where did the idea for dumplings come from?
Noodles with fillings, such as dumplings, dumplings, potato dumplings, and dumplings, are known in many cuisines around the world. Unlike dumplings or stuffed dumplings, where the filling is pressed into the dough ball and stuck to it, dumplings require a thin dough, which is wrapped around the stuffing to stick the birch together. Round pieces are usually cut from the rolled-out dough and stick together after adding the stuffing.
The secret of good dumplings is to make a dough that will be flexible and stick together well, thanks to which the dumplings will not fall apart during cooking and the stuffing will not flow out. The basic ingredients of the dumpling dough are flour and water. Interestingly, to make dumpling dough, the water has to be warm, even almost hot. The stuffing, on the other hand, can be very different. Here, the fantasy is limitless, and everyone can produce their idea for stuffing for dumplings.
The dumplings made in this way are then boiled, fried, or baked. According to various culinary traditions, dumplings can take the shape of a semicircle, triangle, or cone. Their size ranges from small ears to large dumplings that are cut into slices.
Where does the dumpling recipe come from…?
Pierogi are considered a traditional Polish dish. However, the recipe for pierogi was not necessarily made in Poland. We do not know where the recipe for dumplings, i.e., stuffing wrapped in a thin dough and cooked, came from. The idea for dumplings appeared when people learned how to make thin noodles, and someone produced the idea that you can wrap several types of stuffing in the dough.
The first records of this type of food come from China, where pasta was just invented. Legend has it that water got into the flour that was transported on the ship. In order not to throw away valuable food, boiled soaked flour and fed it to slaves. It is difficult to say if this is true since the baking of flour and water pancakes has been known since the dawn of time. However, it was the Chinese who invented a method of making pasta, i.e., a thin dough made of flour and water that can be dried and stored for a long time. Someone produced the idea that the stuffing could be wrapped in pasta and that was how the dumplings were made.
The dumplings came to Poland from Kievan Rus, where they came from China. This dish became popular in Central Asia, through which the silk route used to run. Through the Tatars, Ukraine, and Belarus, the dumplings reached Poland, where they settled for good.
Legend has it that the pierogi were popularized in Poland by a monk from Kyiv, Jacek Odrowąż. While in Podkarpackie, he cooked himself pierogi, which became popular in these regions, and later all over Poland. However, according to written sources, pierogi were known in Poland as early as the 13th century. Pierogi are also found in the cuisines of the world, but in Poland, they have established themselves exceptionally well. In a cold climate, cheap and varied dumplings were a filling, delicious dish even for the lowest social classes. For example, in Galicia, dumplings were made with the cheapest possible stuffing – potatoes and cheese, i.e., food available to the poorest. By adding fat and spices and greaves as a garnish, they have become a popular and tasty dish for Polish peasants.
Dumplings are not very easy to make, however, it is a tasty and cheap dish that allows you to create a feast out of almost nothing. All you need is flour, water, and several types of stuffing, which can be made from meat, cheese, vegetables, groats, or potatoes. Therefore, the recipe for dumplings has become a permanent element of classic Polish dishes.
When do we eat traditional Polish pierogi..?
In Poland, dumplings are a traditional dinner dish. We eat them for the main course, sweet or salty, with salad or alone, seasoned with olive oil, oil, melted butter, or lard with cracklings. Dumplings are also an attractive Christmas dish, especially at parties where guests sit at a table set. Exquisite and more expensive dumplings with mushrooms or meat or interesting dumplings of the world cuisine are served then.
The traditional Christmas dish is Christmas Eve dumplings. For Christmas Eve, which is the Lenten Feast, we prepare dumplings with meatless filling. The most popular and traditional Christmas Eve dumplings are cabbage and mushroom dumplings, but you can also make dumplings using only mushrooms. People who do not like cabbage and mushrooms will gladly eat lentil or Russian dumplings, which are also meatless, so perfect for lent.
Another Christmas Eve dish containing dumplings is the traditional borscht with dumplings. Uszka also means dumplings, but smaller. Borscht dumplings contain mushroom stuffing.
Currently, dumplings are the most often bought. In the past, on the eve of Christmas Eve, housewives would make massive amounts of dumplings so that all guests at Christmas Eve would eat their fill, especially since homemade dumplings are the tastiest.
Recipes ideas for homemade dumplings
Classic Polish dumplings are shaped like a semi-circle. With the help of special discs, round pieces of dough are cut out, which are folded in half and stuck together. Polish dumplings are boiled and served hot with fat or fried onions. Dumplings are a dish in themselves. We do not add salad to the dumplings with cabbage, while the pie with meat goes well with salad or pickled cucumber. Serve the sweet dumplings covered with cream and sprinkled with sugar.
The most traditional ingredient of dumpling stuffing is cooked sauerkraut or fresh cabbage. To diversify the taste, mushrooms, meat, or potatoes are added to the cabbage. It was a classic and inexpensive dish of Polish peasants. In the past, manors used to serve dumplings with meat or giblets.
The best stuffing for dumplings is, of course, meat or offal. Nothing could be wasted in the former villages, which is why offal was used in various dishes. Traditionally, Polish homemade dumplings are made from boiled and ground pork lungs. These are the so-called dumplings with hoopoe.
The tradition of Polish cuisine was broth for Sunday lunch. But what to do with broth that is boiled and unpalatable? Traditionally, it was made the best filling for dumplings. The meat had to be ground, add chopped onion and spices. Too dry stuffing can be combined with an egg or a soaked roll. The best stuffing comes from mixed meat of several types, including pork, beef, and poultry.
The so-called dumplings. Their stuffing consists of seasoned potatoes and cheese. Interestingly, these dumplings do not come from Russia, where this dish is completely unknown. They were created in Eastern Galicia, i.e., in Red Ruthenia, i.e., in the areas of the Dniester and San basins, up to Pripyat. It used to be Polish territories, but now it is Eastern Galicia, which is divided between Poland and Ukraine. Once upon a time, dumplings with potatoes and cheese served as tasty food for Galician peasants. They used to be baked dumplings, now they are boiled. They are served with oil or lard with cracklings.
Currently, ideas for stuffing for dumplings are more varied. In addition to cabbage and meat, we stuff with buckwheat, lentils, spinach, spinach, and cheese. On the other hand, fill the sweet dumplings with cheese or fruit. The cheese is available all year round, and in spring and summer, dumplings with fruit taste great. The best dumplings are made with strawberries and blueberries. Another stuffing idea for fruit dumplings uses blackberries, cherries, fresh or dried plums, and even applesauce.
Dumplings of the world – Far Eastern and European
The oldest dumplings in the world are probably Chinese jiaozi, which is traditionally eaten in China for the new year. A coin is hidden in the stuffing, and whoever finds it in his portion of dumplings will be lucky throughout the next year. Other Chinese dumplings, which also became popular in Europe, are called wontons and are most often served in a soup. The stuffing consists of pork, oysters, or prawns.
In the Far East, dumplings are also served in Japan and Korea. The tradition of dumplings has also come from China to Asia, where they are eaten in Uzbekistan, India, Nepal, and Tibet. In Central Asia, dumplings stuffed with mutton or lamb are eaten in particular. Tatars ate large dumplings stuffed with mutton and baked in the oven.
Dumplings of the world:
- Kołduny – traditional Belarusian, Polish, and Lithuanian dishes. These are small dumplings stuffed with a meat stuffing containing ingredients such as chopped raw beef, tallow, onion, and spices.
- Pelmeni are traditional Russian dumplings stuffed with loose meat stuffing. In Poland, we know their Ukrainian version better. Ukrainian pelmeni is made of a more delicate dough and they are small meat dumplings.
- Georgian Khinkali stuffed with soup and meat,
- Spanish empanada is a bit different from typical Polish pierogi. It is a large dumpling that looks more like a stuffed croissant. It is baked on a baking tray or in oil. The dough is made of bread or puff pastry. The stuffing mainly consists of vegetables and cheese.
- Indian samosas stuffed with vegetables are baked in deep oil,
- Momo, dumplings with meat of various kinds, eaten in Tibet, India, and Nepal,
- Manti are dumplings known in Turkey and Central Asia. Their stuffing consists of various kinds of meat and potatoes. They are served with tomato or yogurt-garlic sauce.
- Vietnamese fried Bánh gối are stuffed with meat, vegetables, rice noodles, and eggs. The stuffing must be seasoned with soy sauce. Traditional bánh gối is made from tapioca and wheat yeast dough.
- Jewish beef liver kreplach eaten traditionally on the Feast of Sukkot.
- Traditional Georgian Khinkali dumplings are interesting. The dumpling dough wraps differently than traditional dumplings, as it is rolled up on one side so that it resembles a bag. This is because the dumplings are filled with raw meat stuffing with water. During cooking, the meat forms an aromatic broth. The way of eating these dumplings is also different. It takes a bit of practice not to pour over the sauce. Grab the tip with your hand, bite and drink the broth, and then eat the dumpling. The firm tip will not be eaten.
- In addition to the Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, and Lithuanian cuisine rich in dumplings, dumplings also settled in Italian cuisine, where many types of dumplings were invented, differing in the fancy way of wrapping the dough.
- Italian ravioli. The best known are ravioli, small and square, with various fillings of meat, cheese, or vegetables. Their variation is agnolotti dumplings, known in northern Italy. They are small, square dumplings filled with meat, roast beef, vegetables, or cheese. The edges of these dumplings are folded inwards so that the sauce is retained in them. Agnolotti is also eaten in a broth.
- Tortellini and tortelloni are eaten in meat broth. They are small dumplings rolled into a circle. Stuffing for them is made of pork or veal. In Italian cuisine, they are also eaten topped with tomato sauce and sprinkled with grated cheese. Cappelletti, which is also eaten in broth, are very similar. Stuffing them consists of meat, vegetables, or cheese. The way the Cappelletti is wrapped is similar to that of tortellini. The difference is that the tortellini is wrapped in a ring leaving a hole in the center, and the Cappelletti are rolled tightly to resemble a hat.
- Dumplings are less known and not very popular in Anglo-Saxon countries. They eat dumplings, which can be translated as dumplings. However, these are more dumplings, i.e., stuffed dumplings, which are made by putting the stuffing into a ball of dough.
How are dumplings made...?
How to make dumplings dough according to classic Polish traditions?
Nowadays, hardly anyone knows how to make dumplings. The preparation of this dish is so laborious that it is not profitable to make a small portion. Therefore, nowadays, few people decide to devote their entire afternoon to making dumplings. You just need to buy a portion of dumplings, especially since this dish is so popular that dumplings offering dumplings to go appear everywhere.
Making dumplings is not difficult. However, it requires practice and experience to skillfully combine flour with water. The ideal dough for dumplings should be sufficiently flexible and easy to stick together. To do this, mix the flour with almost hot water. Some experienced cooks make dumpling dough with oil and even egg. The perfect dough for dumplings is best made from finely ground wheat flour, type 450. Spelled flour or flour for making pasta will also work. It is more difficult to make gluten-free dumplings. We use corn, potato, or rice flour.
Pour over the flour with salted, hot water, mix it, then knead it with your hand, then put the dough on a pastry board and knead it. When the dough is flexible enough, cut out the rings, put the stuffing on, and seal it, pressing it lightly with your fingers. The dumpling dough dries quickly, so cover the rest of the dough with a cloth.
The recipes for dough for dumplings with oil or with eggs are controversial. Some recipes recommend adding a teaspoon of oil to the dough. It is a matter of trial and experiment as some cooks do not use oil dough. The addition of eggs makes the dough harder to knead. Therefore, making a dough with an egg is recommended to experienced cooks.
The best stuffing idea for dumplings
The ingredients for the stuffing for dumplings can be very different. According to Polish tradition, the classic ingredients for stuffing are meat or offal, as well as cabbage and mushrooms. Recently, dumplings made of buckwheat with cheese, lentils, spinach with feta cheese, or only spinach have appeared on sale. An interesting idea for dumplings is a spicy Mexican stuffing containing minced meat, red beans, and corn. Today, the stuffing for dumplings is made of various ingredients. These can be vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, and even olives that can be combined with cheese or spinach. Mushrooms and cottage cheese or feta cheese are a terrific addition to the stuffing.
