Mantia — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

Delicate hand-formed dumplings filled with seasoned ground beef and onions, steamed or boiled and served with a tangy yogurt-garlic sauce. A cherished Kosovar comfort food with Central Asian origins.

Ingredients

400g all-purpose flour
200ml warm water
1 tsp salt
400g ground beef
2 large onions, finely diced
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp paprika
250g yogurt
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp butter

Instructions

1 Make the dough by combining flour, salt, and warm water, kneading for eight minutes until smooth and elastic, then cover and rest for thirty minutes.
2 Mix ground beef with finely diced onions, salt, pepper, and paprika to create the filling.
3 Roll the dough thin and cut into squares roughly eight centimeters across.
4 Place a spoonful of filling in the center of each square, then pinch the edges together to form small boat or purse shapes.
5 Steam the dumplings in a buttered steamer basket for twenty-five to thirty minutes until the dough is cooked through.
6 Serve topped with yogurt mixed with minced garlic and a drizzle of melted butter with paprika.

Did You Know?

Mantia traveled to the Balkans via the Ottoman Empire, which inherited the dish from Central Asian Turkic traditions.