Mantı
Dumpling(s) called “manti” originate from the Ottoman cuisine and is a very traditional dish in modern Turkish cuisine. Manti is filled with ground beef and boiled in water. It is typically served topped with yoghurt spiced with garlic and melted butter with red pepper powder. It can be garnished with ground sumac and dried mint. I admit that it is not easy to prepare it at home because it is very hard work. The process might take hours, since it involves a number of stages that require teamwork. But despite these difficulties you have to try it at least once. It is definitely worth it!
Prep time: 2 ½ - 3 hours
Bake time: 15 minutes
Serving: 3
INGREDIENTS:
FOR DOUGH:
280 gr flour
90 ml lukewarm water or as needed
2 medium eggs or 1 large egg
1 tsp salt
FOR FILLING:
250 gr ground beef
1 onion (shredded)
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp salt
FOR YOGHURT SAUCE:
2 cups yoghurt
2 cloves minced garlic
FOR BUTTER SAUCE:
2 tbsp butter (melted)
Red pepper flakes
Dried mint (optional)
Sumac (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS:
Mix flour, egg and salt in a large bowl,
Pour the water and mix all.
Begin to knead the dough by your hands. If you find it hard to knead, then you can add some more water.
Keep kneading until the dough is soft and formed. The key trick is kneading. The better you knead the dough, the better it will taste and make it easy to roll.
Cover with moist kitchen cloth and set aside for at least half an hour.
In the meantime, prepare the filling. In the other bowl, place the ground beef, shredded onion, black pepper and salt. Combine all these by your hands or spoon.
Divide the dough into two pieces.
Lightly flour a work surface and place one of the pieces. Keep the other piece covered.
Roll out the piece into a circle (13-14 inch/31-32cm) with a roll pin by spreading flour as needed.
Cut it first into strips then into small squares.
Put ½ tsp ground beef in the center of each square.
Seal the dough by bringing together the edges of the square. Place them on a flat tray and sprinkle some flour over them to prevent sticking to each other while waiting to cooked.
Do the same things for second piece.
Into the large pot boil the water with some salt over medium-high heat.
Put them in the water and cook (for about 20 minutes) until dough is tender.
At the same time, in a small pan melt the butter with red pepper flakes.
Serve the manti with yogurt/garlic and butter and other spices as you wish.
Afiyet Olsun
