Khinkali
There is no supra without this dish. Khinkali is a national Georgian dish, much like khachapuri. In a matter of fact it is kind of a dumpling with juicy filling. Traditionally Georgians eat it by hand, holding the khinkali by the stem like a handle. First you take a small bite, suck out the juice and then eat the rest, leaving the stem in the plate.
Usually khinkali is filled with a mixture of meats, onion and water. The mixture is not pre-cooked, and that's how you get the juiciness. That is also the reason you have to cook the khinkali immediately after filling the pastry, otherwise it will open up during cooking.
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Preparation time: 1 hr. 20 mins
Difficulty level: Medium-Hard
Servings: 10
Special equipment: Dough mixer
Ingredients
Dough:
1 Kg (2 lbs.3 oz.) wheat flour
450 mL water at room temperature
2 eggs (optional)
2 tsp. salt
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Filling:
1 Kg (2 lbs.3 oz.) ground meat
(mixture of pork and beef)
2 medium white onions
3-4 cloves garlic
salt
pepper
400 mL water
Preparation
Preparing the dough:
In the clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, add the flour, the eggs, the water and the salt (if you don't use eggs, you may need more water). Mix on low speed 5-6 minutes until the dough is smooth and firm.
Set aside covered with plastic wrap for 1/2 hour.
Meanwhile prepare the filling (see below).
On a lightly floured work surface shape the dough into a sausage about 5 cm (2") thick. Slice the sausage with a knife into thick (1") slices. Roll out each slice into a 2 mm-thick disk.
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Preparing the filling:
Put the ground meat into a bowl.
Add quartered onions and garlic to the food processor together with 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. black pepper and process, gradually adding the water.
Gradually add the mixture to the meat, mixing and squashing it by hand all the time. When all the liquid has been absorbed in the meat, the filling is ready
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Filling and cooking:
Put a tablespoon of filling in the middle of each disk. Close the disk above the filling by pinching the edge and folding it (professionally looking khinkali have at least 20 folds!). When the filling is closed inside a bag-shaped dough pocket, seal it by pressing the folds together creating a kind of stem. Cut off excess dough from the stem.
Boil water in a big pot. Add 1 tbsp. of salt and stir it. Put the khinkali in and stir gently so they don't stick together. Don't put too much at once. After the khinkali float on the surface, let them cook for 5 minutes more, then remove them to a plate. Garnish with some freshly ground black pepper and chopped cilantro.