How Georgian Khinkalis are made

The footage for this short video was shot during a two-week round trip through Georgia in September 2023 at the Mirziashvili family. Many thanks for the hospitality and the explanations how Khinkalis are prepared.
Much more detailed and accurate is the preparation in this Austrian video, unfortunately only with German descriptions:
• Khinkali
And as it is with cooking recipes, there are lots of variations. Khinkalis can be made with beef, pork, lamb and chicken in different proportions, the only important thing is that the meat is minced. The fillings have their differences: for example, if only beef is used, the khinkalis become "too dry and firm". Vegetarian versions can be made with cheese, sliced fried mushrooms, spinach, or diced fried potatoes. Really necessary are flour, water, salt, minced meat or a vegetarian filling and onions. All other ingredients to taste...
Here is an exemplary recipe for about 20 khinkalis, minced meat composition as by the Mirziashvili family:
For the dough:
500 g wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt (use more salt if you like)
250 ml cold water
For the filling:
1 onion (large)
1 clove of garlic
½ bunch of coriander
350 g ground beef (70%)
150 g minced pork (30%)
salt
black pepper
Also:
Flour for the work surface, cookie cutter approximately 10-15 cm Ø, large saucepan, wooden spoon for stirring, bowls, possibly hand mixer with dough hook, water, salt
Preparation:
* For the dough, put flour, salt and about 250 ml of cold water in a bowl and knead into a smooth dough. Let rest in the bowl covered for about 30 minutes.
* For the filling, finely dice onions and press garlic, wash cilantro, shake dry and chop finely. Mix minced meat with onions, garlic, 2/3 of the coriander, salt, pepper in a bowl. Add at least 100 ml warm water little by little and continue to mix well. The water makes the stuffing juicier. The more water, the more broth in the finished khinkali. Avoid too much water.
* For the dumplings, roll out dough thinly (approximately 2 mm) on a floured work surface and cut out in circles about 10-15 cm in diameter. Place one tablespoon of filling in the center of each dough circle. Fold dough upward, making about 12 to 19 small folds, and twist together to form a stalk. The ideal case for some Georgians is 19 folds. It is important that the dumpling is tight and the filling cannot leak out. If desired, use a knife or scissors to cut the stalk straight.
* Fill larger saucepan with water, bring water to a boil and add 2-3 teaspoons of salt. Carefully add the dumplings one at a time to the boiling water. Stir gently with a wooden spoon. The dumplings should not stick to the bottom, but should float in the boiling salted water. After about 6 to 10 minutes, they will float to the top. Then the dumplings can be turned over, quenched with a little cold water and removed.
* Serve khinkali still warm sprinkled with black pepper and remaining coriander. It goes well with sour cream or plum sauce.

[@vigneshkumar487]

Very nice video Ruben! especially liked the part in slow motion where the technique of folding it is shown.
In the description, you mention 'the Ananuri family'. Who are they?

[@rubengopro]

Thanks for the comment. I went to Georgia on an organized tour to see a lot in a relatively short time. And one item on the agenda on the fourth day was to visit a family of musicians for lunch, music, and an introduction to making khinkalis. Everyone in our group of 13 was allowed to participate in making Khinkalis, but not everyone was interested. I checked the itinerary again today and corrected the description in the video: The family is called Mirziashvili and the music group is called Ananuri (ensemble) where father and son play. I think the boss of the tour company knows the family of the musicians, hence the contact. In any case, almost everyone in Georgia knows everyone else, which is no wonder with a population of just under 4 million. At the end of our visit, I discreetly showed the father a picture of the Trio Mandili, and suddenly he could no longer speak English and was dismissive. I didn't want to disturb our tour guide, but although everyone knows everyone, not everyone seems to like everyone. So I left it at that and said a friendly goodbye to the family.

[@vigneshkumar487]

@@rubengopro You are welcome. Thanks for the information regarding Ensemble Ananuri.
I remember one of the comments on Trio Mandili’s channel stating that the Trio are more liked outside Georgia than inside. It seems like your experience with the father corroborates that!

[@rubengopro]

@@vigneshkumar487 I believe that some Georgian musicians see the Trio Mandili as unwanted competition. The Trio is the "new kid on the block". I was surprised that some Georgians I talked to didn't know the Trio at all. It's probably not everyone's style of music and not everyone uses CZcams. That underlines your statement.

[@vigneshkumar487]

@@rubengopro After you provided the details of Ensemble Ananuri, I found some videos of them. In this video (czcams.com/video/i6Y5yO-YJ4g/video.html ) posted six months ago, a hotel is shown as under construction and scheduled to be finished in two weeks (2:56 - 3:24). Did you stay there?

[@vigneshkumar487]

@@rubengopro Last year Mariam shared a quote from Marilyn Monroe on her facebook page- “Success makes so many people hate you. I wish it wasn’t that way. It would be wonderful to enjoy success without seeing envy in the eyes of those around you”. I remember thinking at that time that Mariam must have been the target of envy/hate of some people around her to share that quote…I remember Tatuli also posting something similar either on her Instagram or Facebook page…So I think it is not just musicians who have a negative reaction to the Trio’s success! Even if other musicians view the Trio as unwanted competition, I think the Trio are now an important part of the cultural history of Sakartvelo and an unofficial brand ambassador of their country!