Mushroom khinkali
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 the filling is meat-based, but the following recipe uses mushrooms and is perfectly vegan.
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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.) mushrooms
2 medium white onions
3-4 cloves garlic
2 tbsp. cilantro
1 tbsp. tarragon
1 tsp. ground coriander seeds
olive oil
salt
pepper
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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.
Cover with plastic wrap. 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:
Thinly chop the onions, the mushrooms and the greens. Mince the garlic.
Heat some olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat, sauté the onions for 2-3 minutes, then add the mushrooms and sauté 2-3 minutes more, add the rest of the ingredients and cook together stirring constantly for 2 minutes more, then add 1/2 cup of water and cook 1 minute more and remove from heat. Let cool to room temperature.
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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 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.