Turkish Manti with Yogurt
Turkish manti is very small — each piece roughly the size of a fingernail. The size is not a decorative detail: small pieces cook in 5 minutes and carry a high ratio of sauce to every mouthful. Large ones are just ordinary dumplings.
- Prep
- 75 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Total
- 90 min
- Calories
- 480
Manti comes from Kayseri in central Turkey, and it is said the perfect manti is forty pieces on a single spoon. Thin dough filled with meat, boiled and covered in garlic yogurt and paprika butter — the contrast of cold and hot is its secret.
Method
-
1
The dough
Knead the flour, egg, water and salt for 10 minutes into a firm dough and cover it for 30 minutes.
⏱ 42 min -
2
The filling
Grate the onion and squeeze it (its water tears the dough), and mix it with the meat, spices and parsley.
⏱ 10 min -
3
Roll
Roll the dough very thin (under 2 mm) and cut it into 2×2 cm squares.
⏱ 20 min -
4
Fill
Put a lentil-sized amount of filling on each square, lift the four corners up and pinch them together into a tiny purse.
⏱ 30 min -
5
Boil
Boil in salted water for 5 to 7 minutes until they float and swell. Drain and keep a cup of the cooking water.
⏱ 9 min -
6
Yogurt sauce
Mix the yogurt with the salted crushed garlic and loosen it with two spoonfuls of the warm cooking water — fridge-cold yogurt closes off the flavour.
⏱ 4 min -
7
Paprika butter
Melt the butter over low heat, turn off the heat, then add the paprika, tomato paste and mint and stir for just 20 seconds (paprika burns fast).
⏱ 3 min -
8
Serve
Put the manti in the dish, top with the yogurt sauce, then the red butter, and dust with sumac and mint.
Cooked it? Rate it
Your rating tells the next cook whether this recipe is worth their time.
✓ Thanks — your rating is in.
Tips that actually matter
- Make the pieces as small as you can — small size is the definition of Turkish manti.
- Squeeze the onion water out, or the filling wets the dough and it opens in the water.
- Butter off the heat with the paprika added after — paprika burns in seconds.
- They freeze raw beautifully on a tray then in a bag — boil from frozen with two extra minutes.
People also ask
How is it different from Levantine shish barak?
Shish barak is larger, hat-shaped, and cooked in the yogurt itself. Manti is much smaller and purse-shaped, boiled in water with the yogurt poured over cold.
Manti takes forever — is there a shortcut?
The filling is the long part. Make a large batch and freeze it — one session covers 3-4 meals.
Can I bake it?
Yes — in Kayseri they brown it in the oven first for 15 minutes at 200°C, then boil it in broth for 10 minutes. The flavour is deeper.
Cook mode
Turkish Manti with Yogurt
-
1
The dough
Knead the flour, egg, water and salt for 10 minutes into a firm dough and cover it for 30 minutes.
-
2
The filling
Grate the onion and squeeze it (its water tears the dough), and mix it with the meat, spices and parsley.
-
3
Roll
Roll the dough very thin (under 2 mm) and cut it into 2×2 cm squares.
-
4
Fill
Put a lentil-sized amount of filling on each square, lift the four corners up and pinch them together into a tiny purse.
-
5
Boil
Boil in salted water for 5 to 7 minutes until they float and swell. Drain and keep a cup of the cooking water.
-
6
Yogurt sauce
Mix the yogurt with the salted crushed garlic and loosen it with two spoonfuls of the warm cooking water — fridge-cold yogurt closes off the flavour.
-
7
Paprika butter
Melt the butter over low heat, turn off the heat, then add the paprika, tomato paste and mint and stir for just 20 seconds (paprika burns fast).
-
8
Serve
Put the manti in the dish, top with the yogurt sauce, then the red butter, and dust with sumac and mint.
Comments
Cooked it? Tell us how it went, or ask a question — we read every comment.