pelmeny

or pel·me·ni

[ pel-muh-nee; Russian pyil-mye-nyi ]

plural noun

, Russian Cooking.

1. a Siberian dish of small pockets of dough filled with seasoned, minced beef, lamb, or pork and served boiled, fried, or in a soup.

Word History and Origins

Origin of pelmeny¹

1940–45; < Russian pelʾméni, plural of pelʾménʾ, dissimilated form of dial. pelʾnyánʾ < Komi, Udmurt pelʾńań, equivalent to pelʾ ear + ńań bread, pastry (so called from their earlike shape

Example Sentences

The story features a woman named Ksenia, whose pelmennaya—a homey café specializing in pelmeny dumplings—closely resembles Tarusa’s Cheburechnaya, which, in real life, is run by a woman named Natalia Verzilina.

From The New Yorker