Cepelinai

Cepelinai, whose name literally means zeppelins, are Lithuanian potato dumplings made from grated potatoes and stuffed with ground meat, dry curd cheese, liver or mushrooms, described as a national dish of Lithuania and typically served as a main course. Originally called didzkukuliai, meaning dumb-bells, they were renamed in 1900 in honor of Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, the pioneer of the rigid airship, because their shape resembles a Zeppelin airship, and they typically run 10 to 30 centimeters long, made larger in western Lithuania than in the east, and called cepelina in Samogitia. After boiling they are usually served with a sour cream sauce and bacon bits or pork rinds, and in the Suwalki region, Podlachia, Warmia and Masuria of north-eastern Poland the same dish is known as kartacz.