Dumplings done right: pelmeni and vareniki dough that doesn't tear and a juicy filling

Two doughs work for pelmeni and vareniki. The classic one is made with cold water and egg: it is firm, springy, holds its shape and barely goes soft in the pot. The hot-water dough is made with boiling water: it is softer, more pliable, rolls out thinner and doesn't tear while you shape.

If this is your first time, use the hot-water dough — it is more forgiving. If you want the old-fashioned bouncy edge, go classic.

Plain white flour with 10–12% protein — ordinary all-purpose flour is fine. The water must be cold: warm water kicks off gluten too early and the dough turns rubbery and shrinks back as you roll.

Boiling water partly gelatinises the starch in the flour, so the dough is soft and doesn't spring back — you can roll it to 1 mm and it won't tear.

Straight after kneading the dough fights back: roll it and it shrinks. Gluten needs time to relax. Wrap the dough in cling film or cover it with a bowl and leave for 30–60 minutes at room temperature.

After resting it becomes silky and rolls out half again as easily. You can make it the night before and refrigerate it, but give it half an hour to warm up before shaping.

The classic is pork and beef 50/50: beef brings flavour, pork brings fat and tenderness. All beef is dry, all pork is greasy. Onion is a must: 1 medium onion per 500 g of mince, ideally minced with the meat or grated so it releases its juice.

The key secret is ice-cold water or stock: 50–80 ml per 500 g of mince. Pour it in gradually and work the mince by hand for 2–3 minutes until it is sticky and uniform. That water becomes the little pocket of broth inside each dumpling.

Potato: mash without milk (it makes the filling runny) with fried onion — 2 onions per 1 kg of potatoes. The filling must be completely cold or it will soak the dough and tear it.

Cottage cheese (tvorog): use dry, crumbly curd. Per 500 g of curd — 1 yolk and a pinch of salt; for sweet ones add 2 tbsp sugar. A whole egg makes the filling wet, so yolk only. Squeeze very wet curd in muslin.

Cherry: don't sugar the berries in advance — sugar draws out the juice and the vareniki will leak. Put 3–4 cherries into each one and top with a pinch of sugar mixed with starch (2 tbsp sugar + 1 tsp starch). The juice thickens right inside.

The ideal thickness is 1–1.5 mm — thin enough to see the grain of the board through it. Thicker and you get more dough than filling; thinner and the dumpling bursts in the pot.

Roll the dough in small batches and keep the rest under cling film — it dries fast and the edges stop sticking. If the edges have dried, wet them with a fingertip dipped in water.

The main thing when shaping is to squeeze the air out. Trapped air expands while cooking and splits the dough. Press the edges from the filling outwards, pushing the bubble out.

Use plenty of water: dumplings need room so they don't stick, and volume so the boil doesn't die when you add them. Aim for 3–4 litres per 40–50 dumplings. Salt — 1 tbsp per 3 litres. A bay leaf and a few peppercorns are welcome.

Drop the dumplings into rapidly boiling water and stir gently at once so they don't stick to the bottom. Once they float, lower the heat to a steady simmer.

Lay the dumplings on a floured board or tray in a single layer, not touching, and freeze for 1–2 hours. Once they are hard as pebbles, tip them into a bag. That way they won't freeze into a lump.

They keep for up to 3 months. Don't thaw them before cooking: thawed dough goes soggy and tears. Straight from the freezer into boiling water.