A family favourite and a children’s delight; ripe plums with sugar and cinnamon, encased in soft potato dough, gently boiled, and rolled in golden toasted breadcrumbs. One of my grandmothers made these, though only occasionally, as she was always so busy around the house and garden. They always brightened my childhood days and still feel like a celebration to me.
Ingredients
For the dumplings
- 800 grams (1.7 lb) potato, (cooked, peeled and mashed)
- 1 medium egg
- 300 grams (2 cups) plain flour – (or as much as your potatoes take to make a soft kneadable dough)
- salt
The filling:
- 20 pieces small damson plum, stoned – if making it from a larger fruit can use a half for each dumpling.
- 3 tablespoons of caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon powder
Coating
- 3 tablespoons of sunflower oil
- 100 g (2 cups) fine breadcrumbs
Method
- Prepare the potatoes
Cook the potatoes whole with their skins on. Drain, let them cool slightly, peel, then mash finely (a potato ricer works well). Allow them to cool completely. - Make the dough
When the potatoes are cold, add the egg and a pinch of salt. Gradually work in enough flour to form a soft, smooth dough that is not sticky. - Shape the dumplings
On a well-floured surface, roll the dough into a square about 1 cm (just under ½ inch) thick. Cut into roughly equal squares, about 10 × 10 cm (4 × 4 inches).
Mix the sugar and cinnamon together. Wash and stone the plums, then fill each with about ½ teaspoon of the cinnamon sugar mixture.
Place a plum in the centre of each dough square, bring the corners together, and seal the edges. Gently roll between your hands to form a smooth dumpling. - Cook the dumplings
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Drop in the dumplings, taking care not to overcrowd the pan. After a minute or two, gently stir with a wooden spoon to prevent sticking.
Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. When the dumplings rise to the surface, cook them for a further 1 or 2 minutes. - Prepare the coating
While the dumplings cook, heat the oil in a large frying pan and toast the breadcrumbs over moderate heat, stirring frequently until golden. Watch carefully — they burn easily. - Finish and serve
Lift the cooked dumplings out with a slotted spoon and roll them immediately in the toasted breadcrumbs until evenly coated. Serve warm, dusted with icing sugar.
My daughter had several days in Budapest and returned with stories of tasty food from the markets. Potato,choritso type sausage cheese and sour cream. I looked this up. Hungarian sausage is used. It sounds excellent,and I shall make it. Thank you a delicious food. This was only one of the foods she tried,very tasty and filling.
Lovely to hear Corrie! Would recommend to try the Paprika Potatoes recipe from here with cooking chorizo or Hungarian kolbasz, it has the ingredients you mention and a rustic authentic taste, hope your daughter and family will like it.
Szia:)
Nem tudom beszélsz-e magyarul…I don’t add egg for the pasta, but i add butter or margarin, what the pasta can get on. I really pleased to find this page! At long last i can learn the Hungarian foods in English.
And another: i usually get into the pasta 2-3 table spoon sugar.
Szia Zsuzsa! Igen, beszélek magyarul, de inkább angolul írok a legtöbb olvasó itt azt beszéli.
Thanks for the comment, nice to hear the variations. Yes, it is often made without egg in the dough, the dumplings will be softer. Depends of the potato as well I heard, the older potato holds much better without the egg than the new potato with higher water content. My grandmother only made these from the older potatoes and no eggs, sometimes telling me that the gomboc making had to wait as the potatoes were not good at the time for it.
Szia Eva,
Turns out that the “szilva” that we grew up with in Hungary is Italian Prune. :-)
Love the site. I never really learned to cook growing up, since I had to prep and wash dishes and now living in the US, your site makes things easier.
Thank you.
Agi
Just made your recipe for gomboc. Turned out deeee-liscious, finom! Although I put almost 3 cups flour, my dough was still a bit sticky and tricky to work with. I put 1 generous T. butter in the dough and my potatoes were more waxy (not old). So my dough still had tiny chunks. Just wanted to let other cooks know, if you want gomboc, don’t let anything stop you! I like mine with a ton of crispy breadcrumbs (tip: I use butter, not oil)and lots of powdered sugar. Worth every minute to get the tasty szilva gomboc! Tonight I’ll make the Paprika Potato’s with smoked sausage. Thank you Koszonom Eva.
My father’s name was Bandi I my grandfather nandor my mother was Rosi my sister suszan me aniko my brother nandi
Very nice Hungarian names!❤ You will of course know this, but it is interesting to note here that Bandi is an affectionate and friendly form of András, the Hungarian version of Andrew.
My mother always called him bundi when he wrote formal letters or signed his name on papers he would sign Andreas
Your site is such a blessing for me. Nagymama ruled the kitchen and preferred to do things herself. I looked forward to the day I could spend time with my mother when she took over the kitchen. But sadly she passed away suddenly. My American husband and children had grown to love all the Hungarian dishes that my grandmothers and mother cooked. Especially at Christmas. More cookies than you can imagine! Thank you for the time you put into sharing all these recipes. I make the ones that bring back wonderful memories. My mother was right – if you know what it is supposed to taste like, you can make it! Hug the ones you love and eat together often.
Your site is such a blessing for me. Nagymama ruled the kitchen and preferred to do things herself. I looked forward to the day I could spend time with my mother when she took over the kitchen. But sadly she passed away suddenly. My American husband and children had grown to love all the Hungarian dishes that my grandmothers and mother cooked. Especially at Christmas. More cookies than you can imagine! Thank you for the time you put into sharing all these recipes. I make the ones that bring back wonderful memories. My mother was right – if you know what it is supposed to taste like, you can make it! Hug the ones you love and eat together often.
I grew up in a Hungarian community in Indiana. My Nagymama never learned English and no one could be in her kitchen!
I learned all the dishes I cook from my Mom and Dad.
Plim dumplings were a favorite of mine and I’ve never made them! How sad! I have these small plums frozen whole in my freezer from this summer. Can I use them to make the dumplings?
Lovely to hear about the wonderful memories of your Hungarian heritage! You can use frozen plums for the dumplings, just handle them a bit differently so the dough stays firm and they cook evenly:
Hope they turn out nice close to what you remember. Jó étvágyat!
Hi! My nagymama ruled the kitchen and banished everyone too! I love Hungarian Tidbits because the recipes are so authentic and taste exactly like the delicious meals I grew up on.
Yes, you can use the frozen plums!!