How to cook frozen khinkali

Khinkali is a long-known Georgian dish, very similar to Russian dumplings, only larger and satisfying. Filling them in addition to meat contains greens, and the dough usually lacks eggs. Khinkali can also be mushroom and even with the addition of cheese. The classic method of cooking is cooking, but there are more questions here than with such familiar dumplings. How to cook frozen khinkali and how long does it take? How many cooking methods are there?

How to cook frozen khinkali?

Since this dish is, in its essence, the Georgian equivalent of Russian dumplings, the technology of working with it is as close as possible to that used to make dumplings. Consequently, khinkali can be both boiled in water and steamed, brought to readiness in a slow cooker and even baked in broth in pots, having resorted to the oven. In the end, you can even give them a crust by frying the product in a pan in butter.

• For frozen khinkali there is an important nuance - defrost them allowed only 1 time. Ideally, cook khinkali on their own (start the dough, turn the stuffing, fill them with "bags") in the amount that is enough for one-time use. But if you had to buy a semi-finished product, or if something remained that went into the freezer, you need to take exactly 1 meal from it, without freezing the remnants again.

The easiest way is to cook khinkali in a slow cooker or steamed, although it will take a little longer than cooking on the stove. But do not have to worry about the constant mixing of products, preventing their gluing.

• In the slow cooker the bowl is filled with 500-700 ml of cold water (for 5-7 khinkali), the container is greased with butter, and khinkali are laid in it so that they do not touch each other. The mode "Steaming" and the timer for 30-35 minutes are set.
• In a double boiler Khinkali are placed on the lowest tier, the bowl is filled with water, after which it also waits 30 minutes. Using a similar technology, it is possible to cook khinkali in a mantovark.
• In the microwave it is also easy to prepare frozen khinkali: put 5-6 pieces in a large glass pot, pour them with water (200-250 ml), cover with a lid. The temperature is 800 degrees, the cooking time is 12-15 minutes.

But in the absence of all these household appliances, of course, you have to use the stove. However, there are advantages here - in an ordinary saucepan, the hinkali are boiled faster, but they need to be constantly monitored.

How to cook khinkali in water and how long will it take?

It is most difficult to cook khinkaliv saucepan, since it is necessary to prevent sticking of dough to the bottom and its full cooking. At the same time, the filling should be fully cooked - raw meat is highly undesirable for the organism, and there is more of it here than in dumplings. Therefore, the most pressing question is how long to cook khinkali?

• Typically, the cooking time of this product does not exceed 7-9 minutes. from the moment of its ascent to the surface, but this depends on the filling of the dough. Minced meat cooks longer, so the time can be increased to 15-20 minutes.

The traditional recipe implies some nuances that also increase the cooking time of frozen khinkali, but you can not worry about their correct state by the end of the procedure.

1. Take a large saucepan (4 liters or more), fill it with 3/4 of water, bring the water to a boil and add salt. If necessary, spices are added at the same stage.
2. Lower the khinkali one after another into the pan, while keeping in mind that more than 10 pieces cannot be cooked at the same time, and this number can be reduced for smaller pans. Products should be spacious.
3. Reduce burner power by 1/4, remove the cover. Stir khinkali, not allowing them to stick to the bottom, as long as they do not emerge.
4. After that, wait 7 minutes, add 250-300 ml of cold water to the pan and wait for a new boil.
5. As soon as the water began to boil, the khinkali caught with a slotted spoon and laid out on a la carte plates. The dish is ready to eat.

Interestingly, the traditional recipe implies the absence of cutlery when serving: in Georgia, the khinkali eat with their hands, biting off the upper part of the “bag”, drinking the broth gathered in it, and after already eating the main “body” of the product. Also, no sauces or pastes are added to the khinkali, using herbs or peas as a flavoring seasoning.