Kalduny

Ingredients

Dough

• 1 kgpotatoes, peeled
• 1egg
• 3 tbsppotato starch
• 1 tspsalt

Filling

• 400 gminced pork and beef
• 2onions, finely chopped
• 2 tbspoil
• 1 tspsalt
• 1 tspblack pepper
• 1 tspmarjoram

To serve

• smaltz or fried bacon and onion
• smetana
• dill

Directions

1. Grate the raw potatoes on the fine side of a grater into a bowl.
2. Tip the grated potato into a cloth and wring it out hard over a bowl, squeezing until almost no liquid comes.
3. Squeeze it genuinely dry. Wet potato dough falls apart in the water, and this is the step that decides whether kalduny hold together at all.
4. Let the squeezed liquid stand for 10 minutes. A layer of white starch settles at the bottom.
5. Pour off the water and scrape that settled starch back into the potato.
6. Reclaiming the settled starch is what binds the dough. Thrown away with the water, the potato has nothing holding it and needs far more added starch.
7. Mix in the egg, potato starch and salt to a workable dough, and use it quickly.
8. Work fast. Raw grated potato oxidises and turns grey within twenty minutes, and there is no stopping it.
9. Fry the onions in the oil until golden, cool them, and mix them into the meat with the salt, pepper and marjoram.
10. Wet your hands, take a lump of potato dough, flatten it on your palm, and put a spoonful of filling in the middle.
11. Close the dough over the filling and shape it into a smooth oval, sealing every seam.
12. Check for cracks and smooth them over. A split kalduny disintegrates in the pot and clouds the water.
13. Lower them into a wide pan of gently boiling salted water.
14. Simmer gently for 15 to 20 minutes, until they float and the potato has turned from grey-white to translucent.
15. Keep it at a bare simmer. A hard boil knocks them against each other and they break.
16. Lift them out with a slotted spoon and serve hot with fried bacon and onion, smetana and dill.
17. The name comes from the same root as the Italian caldo, and the dish reached Belarus through Poland and Lithuania.

Technique

• Belarusian kalduny are usually made from raw potato dough rather than wheat, which sets them apart from Polish and Lithuanian versions.
• They are grey when raw and turn translucent when cooked, which is the reliable doneness test.
• Any leftovers are excellent fried in butter the next day.

Substitutions

• A wheat dumpling dough, which is the Lithuanian style.
• Mushrooms in place of meat, for fast days.

Variations

• With mushroom filling, for Christmas Eve.
• Baked in a pan with cream rather than boiled.
• Made small and served in broth.

History

Dumplings filled with meat or mushrooms; the name and the dish are shared with Lithuania and Poland from Grand Duchy times.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kalduny?

Kalduny is a main from Belarus: potato dumplings stuffed with minced meat. Dumplings filled with meat or mushrooms; the name and the dish are shared with Lithuania and Poland from Grand Duchy times.

How long does Kalduny take to make?

Kalduny takes 1 hr of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Kalduny?

Yes, within limits. A wheat dumpling dough, which is the Lithuanian style. Mushrooms in place of meat, for fast days.

What is the most important thing to get right in Kalduny?

Belarusian kalduny are usually made from raw potato dough rather than wheat, which sets them apart from Polish and Lithuanian versions.