The Russian word pelmeni comes from pel'nyan' literally "ear bread" in the native Finno-Ugric Komi and Mansi languages, also spoken in nowadays Udmurtia. No one knows for sure when pelmeni first entered Russian cuisine but one theory suggests that stuffed boiled dumplings in general, originated in northwestern China - this would explain the use of spices such as black pepper, which are not native to Russia and had to be imported.