posted by SueFreeman 01-29-102 8:41 AM
Potato Dumplings (Koyptha) Eva Clay
6 medium potatoes, boiled in skins
2 eggs lightly beaten
1/4 cup flour (more or less)
3/4 cup corn starch or potato starch (more or less)
2 tsp salt
Cook potatoes in salted water and drain. When cool enough to handle peel skin and quarter potatoes. Season with salt and white pepper. Put in skillet and put back over heat stirring constantly to reduce moisture that might be present. Do not brown (some potatoes hold moisture better than others and you want dry potatoes). If you boil potatoes the night before or earlier in the day and let them set out they will dry out enough on their own.
When ready to continue put in bowl and rice or mash potatoes and pat down firmly in bowl and with a knife cut into fourths and remove one fourth of potatoes.
In that quarter part of the bowl where you removed the potatoes add enough corn starch or potato starch (corn starch is chewier and potato starch is fluffier but both are really good) to fill 3/4 of that empty spot in the bowl. Then fill remaining part with flour so it is even with potato mixture. You want three parts of starch to one part of flour.
Add eggs and rest of salt and mix well using more flour if needed to combine into a very smooth and light dough that is not sticking to your hands. It is very smooth and silky feeling and very soft and light feeling.
When combined then take a handful of mixture and roll out on a floured surface into a rope (kopytka) shape and cut into 2 inch long "logs", or make into 1 inch or 2 inch ball. Drop into boiling salted water and cook for 7 to 10 minutes. They will not rise to top or anything, just cook for 7 to 10 minutes and they are done.
Drain carefully so you don't break them up. Drizzle with melted butter so they don't stick together and serve with beef stroganoff, or saute onions and bacon and drizzle with that or just pan fry with melted butter and bread crumbs or serve as a side.