The Best Gluten-Free Pelmeni
These gluten-free pelmeni don't fall apart as you cook them! The secret ingredient to making these delicious Russian dumplings gluten-free is psyllium husk which makes the dough hold together as if it had gluten!
Servings: 40 large dumplings
Calories: 654kcal
Cost: 5
Equipment
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 2 large mixing bowls
Ingredients
Dough
- 240 grams water not cold
- 430 grams gluten-free flour I used 25% brown rice flour, 25% white rice flour, and 50% starch of choice (potato, corn, tapioca, arrowroot).
- 4 grams salt
- 3 eggs at room temperature
- 25 grams whole psyllium husk 20g powder
Filling
- ½ kg ground meat of choice pork, beef, chicken, turkey, or a mix
- 1 large onion
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
Mix the Dough
- In a medium mixing bowl add water and psyllium husk. If you are using powder, make sure to whisk psyllium into the water right away to prevent lumps. Let the mixture sit for about a minute to form a gel!
- Add flour, salt, eggs, and psyllium gel to a large mixing bowl. Combine all the ingredients by hand or with an electric mixer until the dough is smooth and resembles play dough (shouldn't be very sticky or wet).
- Shape the dough into a ball and let it sit while you prepare the filling.
Prepare the Filling
- Chop the onions into small cubes. You can either fry them for extra flavor or add them raw to the meat. I added them raw as I was a bit impatient to try my pelmeni!
- Add the meat, salt, pepper, and onions to a large bowl and mix by hand until incorporated. The filling is ready!
Shape the Dumplings
- Place the dough onto a floured working surface and separate it into 4 relatively equal parts.
- Take one part and roll it into a thick rope. Slice the rope into 8-10 equal pieces.
- Take one piece and start rolling it out with a rolling pin. Rotate the dough frequently to make it evenly round. Don't roll out too thin or the dough will break.
- Then, place some filling in the middle. Don't put too much of it or the dough will tear! Slightly brush the edges of the dough with water (you can use your finger) for better sticking.
- Then, connect the top and bottom sides of the dumpling.
- Take the edges and fold them onto each other pressing them with your fingers to ensure a good seal.
- TIP: you can roll out all dough pieces first and then fill them or do it one by one. You can also roll out a part of the dough into a large sheet and cut out round pieces with a round object. I don't recommend using any specifically designed pelmeni tools for gluten-free pelmeni as they might not do a good enough job sealing the dough.
Cook/Fry/Freeze
- Once all pelmeni are shaped you can either cook them right away in boiling water, fry them in a pan, or freeze them to eat later.
- To cook pelmeni you will need to boil water in a medium-large pot and add a few teaspoon of salt. Place either fresh or frozen pelmeni into the boiling water and wait for it to return to boil. Once boiling with pelmeni inside the pot, give it 5 minutes and they should be ready. Take one dumpling out to try and see if it cooked through. If not, give pelmeni a couple more minutes!
- To fry pelmeni, preheat a frying pan on a medium heat. Add oil and place fresh or frozen pelmeni in the pan. Fry for a few minutes on each side until brown. If you are frying frozen pelmeni, it will take a bit more time to fry them. When you think they are done, take one dumpling and taste it to see if it truly cooked through. If not, give it a few more minutes.
- If you don't want to cook pelmeni right away, place them on a tray and freeze. Make sure to leave space between each dumpling to prevent them from sticking to each other. Don't stack them on top of each other either to prevent sticking. Once I froze all my pelmeni in a large container on top of each other and ended up with one huge dumpling. Not fun!
Notes
Expert Tips
- Be prepared for a long shaping process. Get some music/podcast/audiobook ready to keep you entertained!
- Whatever you do, don't stack pelmeni on top of each other before freezing! I learned it the hard way!
- If the dough gets sticky as you roll it out, sprinkle more flour on it and keep rolling!
Nutrition
Serving: 10large dumplings | Calories: 654kcal | Carbohydrates: 100.1g | Protein: 40.9g | Fat: 8.9g | Saturated Fat: 2.8g | Cholesterol: 214mg | Sodium: 1303mg | Potassium: 720mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 1.7g | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 3mg
