By Nik, founder of 東歐嚴選｜kefir.link and former chef · Updated 2 November 2026
Halushky are tender, fluffy pieces of dough from Poltava in central Ukraine, a city that treats them as its signature dish. This unfilled version is boiled in salted water and tossed in butter while still hot. Milk kefir is what makes them light: its acidity reacts with a little baking soda and puffs the dough as it cooks.
The dumpling with its own monument
Halushky are eaten across Ukraine, but Poltava claims them as its own. In 2006 the city put up a monument on its main square: a stone bowl holding twelve concrete dumplings and an oversized ladle, set on a pedestal shaped like a table draped with a towel, as a symbol of family prosperity. Since 2019 the square has also hosted a halushky festival. The name most likely comes from a word meaning a pebble or a glob, and older versions were made from buckwheat flour mixed with wheat.
Soft dough, short cooking
Baking soda needs an acid to release gas, and kefir supplies it, so the dough needs no vinegar. Soda starts reacting the moment it meets the kefir, which is why the dough is shaped and cooked without a long wait. Halushky made with water alone come out noticeably denser.
Most tough halushky come from two mistakes. The first is adding flour until the dough stops sticking, because a dough that is a little tacky stays soft after cooking. The second is boiling too long, since the dumplings firm up the longer they stay in the water. Keep the pieces small, as they swell in the pot, and toss them with butter straight away so they do not stick together.
Sour cream, onions or cherries
Ukrainians serve halushky with sour cream, fried onions, stewed meat or crisp pork cracklings, and mushrooms cooked in sour cream make a good savoury partner. They are also good tossed with garlic butter, a sauté of chicken, onion and carrot, or grated cheese and herbs. Filled halushky are common too, most often with liver and onion or minced meat. For a sweet version, add sugar to the dough and serve the dumplings with berries, jam or sour cherries.
Poltava kefir dumplings
Ingredients
Dumplings
- 250 g plain milk kefir Bring to room temperature before using.
- 1 egg
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt For the dough; use extra salt to season the cooking water.
- 400 g all-purpose flour Sift before using; have a little extra for dusting the work surface.
Butter coating
- 40 g butter
You will need
- Mixing bowl
- Kitchen scale and measuring spoons
- Sieve
- Whisk and mixing spoon
- Knife and chopping board
- Large saucepan and slotted spoon
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the kefir, egg, baking soda and salt for the dough.
- Gradually mix in the sifted flour with a spoon, then knead by hand to form a soft, pliable dough. A little stickiness is fine; avoid adding extra flour to make it completely dry.
- On a lightly floured surface, divide the dough in half and roll each half into a rope about 2 cm thick.
- Cut the ropes into pieces about 2 cm long; they puff up to roughly twice that size in the pot.
- Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil, adding salt to taste.
- Gently add the dumplings to the boiling water, leaving room for them to expand; cook in batches if needed.
- Stir gently once to loosen any dumplings stuck to the bottom.
- After the dumplings float, cook for another 3–5 minutes. Cut one open to check that the centre is cooked through, with no sticky raw dough.
- Use a slotted spoon to lift out the dumplings, drain well and transfer to a serving bowl.
- Toss each batch with a portion of the butter as soon as it is drained, then serve hot.
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