We are down in Temple for our grandson's birthday and he has requested Maul Dasha for his birthday meal. I have not made it for awhile, but it is a very old family recipe and one I learned hand's on with my grandma. It is very heartwarming to me that Jen has also continued to make it and that her son loves it as much as she does. It will last for another generation at least.
Maul Dasha is a dumpling covered with cream and butter. Yep, that's right -- good and healthy for you! My grandmother explained that when she was growing up her mother would put meats or cottage cheese in them but her favorites were the strawberry ones. I have had peach ones as well, but not the other types. As a little girl, this was the BEST meal ever -- strawberries for dinner!
Let's get started: (And remember that this is from my grandmother's memory -- she never wrote anything down so we just eyeball most things) Put on a big pot of water to boil - adding just a bit of salt to the water.
First we cut up strawberries (either fresh or frozen) and sprinkle them with a little bit of sugar - depending on how sweet they already are - and then add some flour to thicken it up a little -- start with a small amount and stir it in -- you don't want a paste.
We are doing a double batch here so keep that in mind as you read and look at the photos. The next step is:
In a large bowl, combine 3 cups of flour, 3 eggs, and about 2/3 cup of water. You are making a noodle dough and want it workable but not too wet. (I only have the flour amount because I made my grandmother stop and let me measure what was in her hand. She would just say, "4-5 handfuls". My hands weren't the same size as hers and being a numbers person, well it wouldn't work for me that way -- so each handful of hers was put into measuring cups until I had an amount I could write down.)
Mix it all together by hand to get a dough that is firm enough to roll out.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll to 1/8" thick. Then cut into squares that are about 4"x4". The odds and ends at the edges are okay -- they will still be used, just set them aside.
Now, take a spoonful of the strawberry mixture and place it on one of the squares of dough.
Next, you bring up the sides and seal by pinching them closed until you have a little packet. Be sure they are closed well, otherwise they will open and either the strawberries will leak out or water will get in and well, those ones just don't taste as good.
Drop the little packet into the boiling water and continue the process until all your squares are used up. Any odd shaped pieces go into the water as well and if truth be told -- are my favorite part now that I am older. The plain noodles are wonderful with salt and pepper. Yum.
While they cook -- brown some butter and heat some cream. (Yep, again no set amounts) About 15 minutes after the last dumpling is added to the water, remove and place the dumplings/noodles in a serving bowl. Pour the hot cream over. Drizzle with browned butter and serve.
We usually serve either a sausage or a hamburger patty on the side. Anything goes. Drizzle a little cream over the ones on your plate and you are ready to go. Oh, my -- this is soooo good. AND such a great memory of my youth. Yep, fruit for dinner. Woohoo.
A couple of years ago Mister and I were able to go down to Ennis and view the bluebonnets. I have been following their bloom this year and want to drive down again. They will probably peak within the week but I also don't want to deal with all the traffic when they do. As a result, we are off first thing this morning -- look out Ennis -- cameras on the way.
