Apology of the dumpling.
Apology of the dumpling.
The dumpling would be the most ancestral of culinary traditions, that it would testify to a moment of refinement in the preparation of cooked dishes.
It was in northern India, in the Punjab, 4000 years before our era, that the remains of two great cities that had disappeared, Harappa and Mohenjo Daro, were found.
Prosperous and advanced civilizations, which had, among other things, kitchens in which utensils were found: copper stoves, dishes and dishes, knives, mortars.
Research has shown that people eat meat that is drumstick-tenderized, cooked in sesame oil and seasoned with mustard, turmeric and ginger.
Should we see there the first ancestor of the dumpling?
If they prove to be correct, the dumpling would be neither more nor less an “invention” contemporary with that of the wheel.
Since then, dumplings have extended their sovereignty in all cultures and on all continents: polpette, kefta, köttbullar, falafels, nuong, bitki, matzoh, knödel...
Which gastronomy does not know the dumpling, "at ease in all kitchens"?
Pan-fried, deep-fried, simmered in sauce, steamed, in soup, in sandwiches, on pizza, raw, stuffed; it is the subtle art of accommodating leftovers, the symbol par excellence of family, nostalgic and economical cooking.
Who fears neither variations, nor approximations, nor improvisation. Just combine ingredients that make the pair, minced meat, leftover cooked fish, legumes or sausage meat, add some herbs, spices, chilli, garlic, shallot, cheese, nuts or dried fruit, an egg to bind the stuffing and breadcrumbs to coat.
And between the palms of his hands, to appropriate an immemorial gesture, a thousand billion times repeated.
