Fried Pork Dumplings With Cheese & Sour Cream

Ultimate comfort food alert! Not for the faint-hearted, these Fried Pork Dumplings (also known as Kepti Koldunai in Lithuania) are fried in oil to crisp up, then covered with a blanket of sour cream and cheese and then baked until the cheese melts, starts to bubble and brown! Tasty, filling and full of guilt, these Lithuanian dumplings are the best plate of food when you simply need to forget the calories and enjoy some “fried food with cheese”!

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Ultimate Naughty Food

Generally speaking, we like healthy food. We eat lots of fruit and vegetables and love salads! But… There are days when you just need to have that cheesy pizza, those big burgers, crispy Lithuanian Potato Pancakes or a deep-fried snack and nothing will stop you. This fried pork dumplings with cheese recipe is for those days! Two things about it:

1. It is not for the faint-hearted. It is calorific, it is filling and it is the ULTIMATE unhealthy comfort food that simply makes you feel so good for all the bad reasons. There’s no way I can sugar-coat it. It is one of those dishes that you keep on going back to, although you know you shouldn’t.
2. The recipe is inspired by the dish in one of the restaurants in Lithuanian that I would often go to as a child and as a teenager! It was called ‘Gruzdinti Koldunai’ but is more widely known as ‘Kepti Koldunai’ in Lithuania. We never ever made this at home ourselves when I was growing up though. But I just couldn’t;t stop recreating it in my kitchen when I grew up and moved far away from the restaurant that served them!

Is It Difficult To Make Crispy Pork Dumplings From Scratch?

Making the dumplings from scratch may seem like a daunting task, but it is actually very quick and easy. If you ever made your own pasta, we can tell you it’s much easier in comparison. You don’t need a pasta machine as the dough can be rolled out a bit thicker, the dough itself is a lot more pliable and easier to handle, and since your fried dumplings will be covered with cheese and sour cream blanket, you really don’t need to worry about uniformity!

Ready? Let’s cook!

Ingredients

Here’s what to look for in your cupboards and shop for:

• plain flour: also known as all-purpose flour.
• egg: use large in the UK, and extra-large in the US.
• pork mince (ground pork): you may choose lean pork mince if you wish.
• onion: brown or white, or it can be replaced with a couple of small shallots.
• garlic powder: can be substituted with a small minced garlic clove.
• oil: vegetable, sunflower or rapeseed oil for frying.
• cooked ham: you can use shop-bought thick-cut ham slices or any leftover baked gammon/ ham cut into small thin pieces.
• sour cream: can be replaced with creme fraiche.
• cheese: Emmental, young Gouda or mild Cheddar will work beautifully with these crispy pork dumplings.
• fresh dill: optional.

Method

STEP 1: How To Make The Dough For Dumplings?

To make the dough, place plain (all-purpose) flour on a kitchen surface and make a well in the middle. Pour in the water and crack an egg in the middle. Then using your fingers, start pinching the flour and water together. Once the dough starts to come together, start kneading. If your dough is too wet, add some more flour, if it’s too dry, add a drop of water.

Knead for approximately 5 minutes, then cover with cling film (we love Kirkland Signature Clingfilm – it is strong and easy to use) and leave to rest at room temperature for 30min. During this time, dumpling dough relaxes and the gluten in the flour develops further, making it easier to work with later.

STEP 2: Make The Dumpling Filling

Whilst the dumpling dough is resting, make the filling. Add a teaspoon of butter or oil to a small frying pan. Sautee the chopped onions just until starting to soften and turn translucent but don’t let them brown. Leave them in the pan to cool down.

Add the cooled onions, garlic powder and some seasoning to your pork mince and mix. That’s the pork filling for dumplings ready!

STEP 3: How To Shape Pork Dumplings?

Once the dough has rested, using a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a thin (approx. 3mm thick) sheet. Use flour deliberately to dust the surface, to ensure your dough doesn’t stick.

Using a cookie cutter or a thin rim of a wine glass (approximately 6 cm in diameter), cut circles out of your dough. Place a teaspoon of pork mixture in the centre of each dough circle.

Fold the dough over to form a half-circle and press down on the edges to seal in the pork filling. Draw the two bottom corners of the half-circle and press them together. Place the pork dumplings on a well-floured board as you go.

STEP 4: Fry The Dumplings

Heat the oil in a large wide-based pan. You will need enough oil to cover the dumplings halfway up, but if you choose to deep-fry, that’s perfectly fine too!

Carefully drop the dumpling into the hot oil. Fry on medium heat for approx 7-10 minutes, turning them often until they are lovely golden brown and crisp. If unsure, cut one of the dumplings open to check that the pork filling is cooked through. Using a slotted spoon, take them out of the oil and place them on a paper towel-lined plate. The paper towel will absorb any excess oil.

You now should have a large batch of crispy pork dumplings in front of you.

STEP 5: Bake The Dumplings With Cheese, Ham and Sour Cream

Preheat the oven to 180°C Fan.

Place the crispy pork dumplings into an ovenproof dish or individual pie dishes. Spread the sour cream (or creme fraiche) on top, and scatter the ham and grated cheese. Place the dish in the oven for approx 7-10 minutes until the cheese melts and starts to brown.

Scatter some fresh dill on top just before serving.

Recipe FAQs

What Do You Eat Pork Dumplings With?

These Fried Pork Dumplings With Cheese are extremely filling and satisfying to eat! And they are best served with a healthy and nutritious side dish, like:

• Fried Tenderstem Broccoli with Garlic and Lemon (Garlic Broccolini)
• Sauteed Spring Greens With Lemon & Thyme
• Garlicky Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Reduction

Other Lithuanian Food Recipes

If you liked our version of Lithuanian Dumplings (Kepti Koldunai), you may be interested in trying some more recipes from this beautiful country. More traditional Lithuanian recipes include:

• Lithuanian Honey Cake With Fourteen Layers
• Lithuanian Summer Beetroot Soup a.k.a Pink Soup
• Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Other Comfort Food Recipes

If you’re after more ‘guilty-pleasure’ food ideas, here, at Somebody Feed Seb, we love the following:

• Canadian Poutine with Chicken & Gravy
• Spicy Bean Stew with Cheesy Dumplings
• Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Creamy Garlicky Kale

Recipe Card

Fried Pork Dumplings With Cheese & Sour Cream

Ultimate comfort food alert! Not for the faint-hearted, these Fried Pork Dumplings are fried in oil to crisp up, then covered with a blanket of ham, sour cream and cheese and then baked until the cheese melts, starts to bubble and brown! Tasty, filling and full of guilt, this dumpling bake is the best plate of food when you simply need to forget the calories and enjoy some 'fried food with cheese'!

5 from 9 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Resting Time: 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine Lithuanian

Servings 4 portions

Calories 740 kcal

Ingredients

 

MetricUS Customary

 

1x2x3x

For the Dough:

• 320 g plain flour
• 1 egg large
• 120 ml water

For Pork Filling:

• 300 g pork mince
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• ¼ teaspoon garlic power
• 300 ml vegetable, sunflower or rapeseed oil for frying

For the Topping:

• 60 g cooked ham cut into small thin pieces
• 200 ml sour cream or creme fraiche
• 150 g Emmental, young Gouda or mild Cheddar coarsely grated
• 2 tablespoon fresh dill finely chopped

Instructions

 

• To make the dough, place plain flour on a kitchen surface and make a well in the middle. Pour in the water and crack an egg in the middle. Then using your fingers, start pinching the flour and water together. Once the dough starts to come together, start kneading. If your dough is too wet, add some more flour, if it's too dry, add a drop of water. Knead for approx 5 minutes, then cover and leave to rest at room temperature for 30min.
• In the meantime, make the filling. Add a teaspoon of butter or oil to a small frying pan. Sautee the chopped onions just until starting to soften and turning translucent but don't let them brown. Leave them in the pan to cool down.
• Add the cooled onions, garlic powder and some seasoning to your pork mince and mix.
• Once the dough has rested, using a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a thin (approx. 3mm) sheet. Use flour deliberately to dust the surface, to ensure your dough doesn't stick.
• Using a cookie cutter or a thin rim of a wine glass (approx 6 cm in diameter), cut circles out of your dough. Place a teaspoon of pork mix in the centre of each dough circle. Then fold the dough over to form a half-circle and press down to seal in the filling. Draw the two bottom corners of the half-circle and press them together. Place the dumplings on a well-floured board and transfer them to the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up.
• Heat the oil in a large wide-based pan. Carefully drop the dumpling into the hot oil. Fry on low-medium heat for approx 7-10 minutes, turning them often until they are lovely golden brown and crisp. If unsure, cut one of the dumplings open to check that the filling is cooked through. Preheat the oven to 180° C Fan.
• Using a slotted spoon, lift the dumplings out onto a plate lined with some kitchen towel to absorb any excess oil. Then transfer the dumplings into an ovenproof dish or individual pie dishes. Spread the sour cream (or creme fraiche) on top, scatter the ham and grated cheese. Place the dish in the oven for approx 15 minutes until the cheese melts and starts to brown. Sprinkle some fresh dill on top just before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 740kcalCarbohydrates: 68gProtein: 37gFat: 34gSaturated Fat: 17gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 166mgSodium: 578mgPotassium: 551mgFiber: 3gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 456IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 370mgIron: 5mg

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