Mantı — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

Tiny parcels of spiced lamb nestled in delicate handmade dough, boiled to silky tenderness and lavished with garlicky yogurt and sizzling paprika butter. These Turkish dumplings are a labor of love where smaller means more skilled, and each bite is a burst of layered luxury.

Ingredients

300g all-purpose flour
1 egg
120ml water
1/2 teaspoon salt
300g ground lamb
1 medium onion, very finely minced
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
500g thick Greek yogurt
4 cloves garlic, minced
60g butter
2 teaspoons Turkish red pepper flakes (pul biber)
1 teaspoon dried mint
Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

1 Make the dough: combine flour, egg, water, and salt. Knead for 8-10 minutes until very smooth and elastic. Wrap in plastic and rest for 30 minutes.
2 Prepare the filling: mix ground lamb with minced onion, parsley, cumin, salt, and pepper. The mixture should be well seasoned as each dumpling holds only a small amount.
3 Roll the dough very thin on a floured surface (about 1mm). Cut into 2.5cm squares. Place a small pea-sized amount of filling in the center of each square.
4 Pinch opposite corners together to seal each dumpling into a small boat or purse shape. The traditional Kayseri style should be tiny enough that 40 fit on a single spoon (though home-size is fine at 2-3cm).
5 Bring a large pot of salted water to a gentle boil. Cook the manti in batches for 8-10 minutes until the dough is tender and the filling is cooked through. Drain gently.
6 While the manti cook, prepare the sauces: mix yogurt with minced garlic and a pinch of salt. In a small pan, melt butter until foaming, then stir in red pepper flakes and dried mint, cooking for 30 seconds.
7 Arrange the manti in a serving dish, spoon the garlic yogurt generously over top, then drizzle the sizzling paprika butter over everything. Serve immediately while the butter is still crackling.

Did You Know?

In Kayseri, the birthplace of manti, a bride's cooking skills are judged by how small she can make her manti. The saying goes that a worthy bride's manti should be small enough to fit 40 on a single spoon.