Bansh
Mongolia's small boiled dumplings: thumb-sized parcels of unleavened dough around seasoned mutton, simmered in salted water or in mutton broth.
Overview
A wheat-flour-and-water dough rests for 30 minutes. Mutton mince mixes with onion, garlic and salt with a splash of water (for juiciness). Dough rolls into a long rope; cuts into small (15 g) pieces; rolls each into a thin disc. A teaspoon of filling sits on the disc; the edges pinch into a small money-pouch shape with a pleated top. Simmer in salted water 10 minutes or float in clear mutton broth.
Ingredients
Dough
- 350 g plain flour
- 200 ml warm water
- ½ teaspoon salt
Filling
- 400 g minced mutton (or fatty beef)
- 1 onion (small, very finely diced)
- 3 garlic cloves (crushed)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 tablespoons cold water
To serve
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
- 1 tablespoon vinegar (optional)
Optional broth (for bansh-tai-shul)
- 1 ½ litres mutton (or beef stock)
- 1 onion (small, sliced)
- Fresh dill (chopped, to scatter)
Method
Stage 1 - Dough
- Mix flour, salt and warm water to a stiff dough.
- Knead 8 minutes until smooth.
- Wrap; rest 30 minutes.
Stage 2 - Filling
- Combine mince, onion, garlic, salt and pepper.
- Mix in the cold water; knead with your hand for 2 minutes until the meat is sticky.
Stage 3 - Shape
- Divide the dough into 4 portions; keep 3 covered.
- Roll one portion into a long rope 1 ½ cm thick.
- Cut into 15 g pieces (about thumb-tip sized).
- Roll each piece into a thin disc 7-8 cm across.
- Spoon a heaped teaspoon of filling onto the centre.
- Gather the edges up and pinch them into pleats at the top, forming a small purse. Don't seal completely - bansh traditionally has a tiny opening at the top.
- Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
Stage 4 - Cook
- Boiled version: Bring a wide pot of well-salted water to a boil. Drop in bansh in batches (don't crowd). Simmer 8-10 minutes until they float and the dough is translucent.
- Broth version: Bring stock to a simmer with sliced onion and a pinch of salt. Drop bansh in; cook 8-10 minutes until they float.
- Lift out with a slotted spoon.
Stage 5 - Serve
- Boiled bansh: Pile into a bowl. Drizzle with soy, chilli flakes and a splash of vinegar.
- Broth bansh: Ladle into bowls with the broth; scatter dill.
Notes
- Bansh vs buuz: Bansh are smaller and boiled; buuz are bigger and steamed. Both are mutton mince in unleavened dough but the texture is quite different.
- The small opening at the top: Traditional bansh have a tiny gap to let the steam escape during cooking. Don't seal totally airtight.
- The water in the filling: Same trick as khuushuur - water makes the meat juice up inside the dumpling.
Storage
- Make filled raw bansh, freeze on a tray in a single layer, then bag - keeps 3 months. Cook from frozen, adding 3 minutes to the boil.
- Cooked bansh refrigerate 2 days; reheat in simmering water 2 minutes.
Recipes mentioned here
Buuz
A simple flour-and-water dough rests until pliable. The filling is finely chopped (or coarsely minced) lamb or beef mixed with very finely chopped onion, garlic, salt and pepper, minimal additional seasoning, since Mongolian buuz prizes the meat's own flavour. Each wrapper rolls thin in the centre, slightly thicker at the edges. A heaped spoon of filling sits in the middle; the edges pleat together to form a small purse with a hole at the top. Steamed for 15-18 minutes; the wrapper turns slightly translucent.
Khuushuur
A simple flour-water-salt dough rests for 30 minutes. Mutton (or beef) is minced finely with onion, garlic, salt and a splash of water (the water makes the filling steam-juicy inside). Dough is divided, rolled into thin 14 cm discs. A heaped tablespoon of filling sits on each disc; the edges are sealed by pinching and crimping into a flat half-moon. Deep-fried for 3 minutes a side in 180°C oil until blistered and gold.
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