Poltavski halushky

The story

Halushky are pieces of plain dough cooked in steam or broth, and in Ukraine they belong above all to Poltava. Ethnologists date them to the Cossack era in the Poltava region, when large halushky were served with borscht in place of bread. Over time the pieces grew smaller, cooks began dressing them with fried salo and onion, and halushky became a dish of their own. Elsewhere in Ukraine they go by halky, hrudky, rvani or shchypani. The old dough was flour mixed with sour milk, eggs, salt and spices. A recipe native to the city is halushky with chicken and sour cream, and Poltava Oblast also makes a filled kind. Poltava put up a monument to the halushka in 2006 and holds a halushky festival every year. Cooks still differ on method. Inna Popereshniuk, who grew up eating halushky in Poltava, steams balls of yeast dough and serves them with pulled chicken and sour cream, while other published recipes drop soda-leavened kefir dough into simmering broth, as this one does. Make the broth and pull the chicken up to a day ahead, then cook the dumplings just before serving with a crisp cucumber or sauerkraut salad.