Mantı – Turkish Dumplings

'Mantı' is one of the best example of Turkish cusine. These ravioli like small dumplings are made with fresh dough rolled out and cut into tiny squares.

‘Mantı’ is one of the best example of Turkish cuisine. These ravioli-like small dumplings are made with fresh dough rolled out and cut into tiny squares. Each square is stuffed with a mixture of lamb or beef, onions and spices then pinched closed. The dumplings are most often boiled but sometimes they may be baked or steamed depending on who’s cooking and where they are from as there is a great deal of regional variety.

‘Mantı’ is usually made fresh, but can also be dried and stored for longer. In the times of Ghengiz Khan, people carried dried ‘mantı’ on horse back as they roamed through the Asian steppes and all they had to do was to boil water and add the dry dumplings for a hot meal on the way.

Today, ‘mantı’ is still a popular dish. In modern Turkish cuisine, ‘mantı’ is served hot with garlic yogurt. Mint, sumac and hot red pepper are used as garnish.

Turkish ‘mantı’ is easy to make but can take some time to prepare. Here is to you make the famous authentic ‘mantı’;

The dough:

• 4 cups flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs

The filling:

• ½ pound/350 grams ground beef,
• 2 tbsp. chopped parsley
• 1 grated onion,
• 1 tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. black pepper
• ½ tsp. cumin powder
• ½ tsp. sweet paprika or red hot pepper
• ½ tsp. dried mint

The broth:

• 4 cups water plus 1 tsp. salt or beef broth
• 1 tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 tbsp. sweet pepper paste

The sauces:

• 3 cups plain yogurt
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 2 tbsp. tomato paste
• 1/3 cup water

How to prepare:

• Slowly mix eggs, salt and the flour with a fork. Add enough water to make a firm dough. Roll it out into thin sheets with a rolling pin on a floured surface or use a pasta machine to make the dough sheets.

• Grate the onion, squeeze out the extra liquid in a fine wire strainer. Take a large bowl, put meat and spices together with the onion and knead them. Add salt, black pepper and parsley if you prefer, but also other spices would go well, too.

• With the tip of a sharp knife, cut the dough sheets into small squares like the size of a stamp. Place pea-sized piece of filling in the center of each square.

• Pinch together two opposite corners with your fingers in the center over the filling. Then, pinch together the other two corners. All the corners should be pinched together at the center.

• In a large saucepan, combine four cups of water with 1 teaspoon salt. 1 tablespoon each of tomato paste and sweet pepper paste can be added to the broth.

• Add the dumplings to the broth and let them cook. Cooked ‘mantı’ usually floats to the top. When cooked, the dumplings should still hold together but look tender. Remove the cooked dumplings from the broth promptly with a long-handled strainer and place in serving bowls. Add a few spoons of the broth to each bow.l

• For the yogurt sauce, whisk the crushed garlic into the yogurt until creamy. For the tomato sauce, melt the butter in a small pan, add the tomato paste, salt and water and let the mixture simmer for a few minutes.

• Top each bowl with a generous amount of garlic yogurt. Finally, top each bowl with a few spoons of the tomato sauce.

• Mint, oregano, sumac and hot pepper may be used for garnish.

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