Kazan — summer 2010

You may have already seen some of the types of dumplings that people eat in Russia, like pelmeni and manty. Here are a couple more types. First here we have some frozen vareniki, which I would probably translate as "boilies" ('var' = 'boil') cuz you boil them:

Vareniki sometimes have sweet fillings. These ones are stuffed with cherries and a bit of syrup:

After you boil them up, you are supposed to pour melted butter over them, and then garnish them with some sour cream. I ate them plain. Still very good.

Next we have some frozen khinkali (хинкали), which are a Georgian version of the dish:

The dough of khinkali is thicker than regular pelmeni and vareniki. They are stuffed with ground meat mixed with some green herbs. I've cut one open after boiling so you can see the inside:

Actually, though, you aren't supposed to cut them open. Khinkali are meant to be eaten with your fingers, even though they are still piping hot. They contain a bit of broth in addition to the meat/herb mix, and you must eat them in such a way that you not spill a single drop of the gloriously meaty juice they contain. I have to tell you, I like these better than any of the other other pelmeni, vareniki and manty I've had since I've been here. And I've been eating a lot of them!