What are they?
Boiled dumplings: a soft unleavened dough folded around a filling. Potato, cottage cheese,
cabbage, cherries. The sweet ones are not a novelty — they are as traditional as the savoury.
How are they different from pierogi and pelmeni?
Pierogi are the Polish near-twin and the difference is mostly regional.
Pelmeni are the real distinction: they are filled with raw minced meat,
made much smaller, and usually eaten in their broth.
Varenyky are filled with something already cooked, so boiling is only about the dough.
What dough?
Flour, water or kefir, an egg, a little oil, salt. It should be soft — noticeably softer
than pasta dough — and it must rest, covered, for at least 20–30 minutes.
Dough used straight after kneading tears when rolled.
Kefir versions stay tender longer after boiling; water-and-egg versions are firmer
and better if you plan to fry the leftovers.
How long do they boil?
Two to three minutes after they float, in plenty of salted water at a
gentle roll. A rolling boil tears the seams — this is the most common failure.
How do I stop them falling apart?
Keep the water gentle, keep flour off the sealing edge, and do not overfill.
The full version is in
why varenyky
fall apart.
Can I make them ahead?
That is what they are for. Freeze them raw on a board in a single layer, then bag them;
they keep three months and boil from frozen with a couple of extra minutes.
Boiled ones keep 2–3 days in the fridge, tossed with a little oil so they do not fuse.
What do I do with leftovers?
Fry them. Boiled varenyky fried with onion are arguably better than the first serving,
and it is the reason to deliberately make too many.
What is served with them?
Smetana, always. Then fried onion for savoury, or sugar and sour cream for sweet.
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