ხინკალი

Make the dough by combining flour and salt on a clean surface. Create a well in the centre and gradually add the water while mixing with a fork. Knead vigorously for ten minutes until the dough becomes smooth, elastic, and springs back when poked. Rest covered for thirty minutes.

Combine the ground beef, finely diced onion, garlic, cilantro, cumin, coriander, black pepper, chili flakes, and salt in a bowl. Gradually add the cold water or broth while mixing, which creates the soupy interior that is khinkali's most important characteristic.

Mix the filling vigorously in one direction for three minutes until the liquid is fully absorbed and the mixture is slightly sticky. The filling should be loose enough to generate soup inside the dumpling when cooked but firm enough to handle during wrapping.

Divide the rested dough into twenty-four pieces. Roll each into a thin circle about twelve centimetres in diameter. The dough should be thin enough to see your hand through it at the edges but slightly thicker in the centre for structural support.

Place two tablespoons of the wet meat filling in the centre of each dough circle. Gather the edges up and over the filling, creating small pleats all around and twisting them together at the top to form a tight topknot. There should be twenty to twenty-five pleats per dumpling.

Bring a very large pot of generously salted water to a rolling boil. Drop the khinkali in batches of eight, stirring gently once so they do not stick to the bottom. Boil for ten to twelve minutes until they float and the dough looks slightly translucent.

Remove the khinkali with a slotted spoon and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper. To eat traditionally, hold the topknot, turn the dumpling upside down, bite a small hole, and sip the hot broth inside before eating the rest. The topknot is left on the plate uneaten.