There is no real reason to eat matzo balls on Pesach. Neither Pharoah nor Moses ate them and yet they are integral to the Seder. In many homes it is unimaginable to retell the story of the Exodus without taking a break midway through the telling to enjoy a bowl of matzo balls swimming in chicken soup.
Matzo balls aren’t without controversy. Some people believe that the Pesach dumplings also known as kneidlach, should be light and feathery—“floaters,” as opposed to the firmer and more substantial balls known as “sinkers.”
Because they incorporate more air—some “floater” recipes even call for whipped egg whites-, floaters are light and fluffy and also lower in fat than sinkers. Sinkers which tend to include oil or schmaltz along with eggs and matzo meal are chewy and substantial
Sinkers is actually a misnomer. If you keep the lid on while you are boiling them, your sinkers won’t sink. They will float above the soup and retain their firm texture and shape. Unlike the feathery floaters they can be filled with interesting surprises like the classic the Lithuanian “neshoma,” filling. Whichever knaidl you chose, you can’t go too far wrong.
Firm matzo balls (sinkers) from Love and Knishes by Sara Kasdan
Ingredients
Two tbsp schmaltz
One egg
½ tsp salt
Dash nutmeg

Preparation
1. Cream all ingredients together until smooth
2. Add ¼ to ⅓ C matzo meal
3. Refrigerate for at least one hour (you can leave overnight and make balls the next day)
4. Roll into walnut-sized balls and drop into rapidly boiling salted water or soup.
5. Cook covered for 30 minutes. Drain and serve.
Freezes well. Makes 10 balls. Serves 4-6
Kneidlach with a Neshoma
Thisgolden egg yolk filling is whimsically called a neshoma or a soul. Don’t try this will floaters. A neshoma needs the tough outer skin a sinker provides.
Preparation
1. In a separate dish mix together one egg yolk, ¼ to ½ tsp sautéed onion, a pinch of cinnamon and enough matzo meal to create a paste (measure it in pinches).
2. Make balls using the firm recipe.
3. In the palm of your hand flatten each ball slightly and insert a quarter teaspoon of “neshoma’” filling.
4. Seal the filling inside by closing the matzo ball batter around it and follow cooking instructions for firm matzo balls.
Fluffy Kneidlach or Floaters
Ingredients
One egg
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp oil or schmaltz
1 Pinch cinnamon
⅓ C matzo meal
½ tsp salt and a good pinch of black or white pepper
Preparation
Pinch cinnamon
Pinch sugar
⅓ C matzo meal
½ tsp salt and a good pinch of black or white pepper
Preparation
1.Mix all ingredients together . Cover with plastic wrap and leave in the fridge to set for at least an hour. You can leave this batter overnight.
2. Fifteen minutes before you are ready to roll your balls boil up a small pot of well salted water or soup stock.
2.Wet your hands and roll into into walnut-sized balls
3.. When the water reaches a roiling ball turn it down to simmer and plunge the balls inside. Cover the pot and let the balls cook undisturbed for a half hour.
5. Drain and serve.
Freezes well.
Chicken Balls
In Hassidic homes , matzo balls are off the menu on Seder night. This is because some Rabbis, most of them Chassidic believe that when matzos are mixed with water the mixture runs the chance, leavening or turning into chametz. Hence they ban all matzo liquid mixtures including kneidlach.
As this is a remote possibility, most Rabbis reject this ban Among Chassidim it is the norm to abstain from ‘gebruchts,”—the general term for kneidlach, matzo brei, matzo kugel and other foods based on matzo liquid combinations. (gebruchts is the Yiddish term for broken as matzos are broken or ground before they become wet). Hassidic cooks have cleverly developed an ersatz matzo ball made of ground chicken combined with mashed potato When I first heard about this I was skeptical, but to my surprise it proved to be quite tasty and not unlike the real thing.
Chicken Balls
Ingredients
One pound or 250 grams ground turkey or chicken
One egg
Pinch black pepper
¼ tsp salt
One medium-sized mashed potato.
½ a small onion finely diced
Pinch ginger
¼ C potato starch .
Preparation
1. Combine all ingredients and refrigerate for an hour or more.
2. Boil a pot of soup. Form the mixture into balls—they will be slightly ragged looking.
3. Plunge into rapidly boiling soup.
4. Cook in covered pot over low flame for 45 minutes.
Freezes well. Serves six to eight.