I’m not gonna lie and sugar coat it, it’s a lot of work and time consuming but oh the outcome!!! All worth it! As a child we used to have roles when manti was being made…auntie used to open the dough and cut it in small squares, my cousin would add the meat and I would shape them and place in a tray. Hope you give it a try as a real home made manti is a must and I am sure you will start to always make it! It freezes beautifully for months 🙂
Recipe for 4 people.
Ingredients:
For the dough:
- 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour, plus more for dusting and kneading
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Water as much as needed
For the filling:
- 200 gr finely minced beef
- 1 small onion, grated
- Salt and pepper to taste
For the yogurt:
- 3 cup natural yogurt
- 1 egg
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- Salt
- 1/4 cup of water
To finish:
- 50 gr butter
- 1/2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon dried mint
- Sumac
Method:
For the dough:
- Place flour and salt in a bowl and give it a stir.
- Add the egg and oil.
- Gradually add enough water to form a dough.
- Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead adding flour as you go making sure that you end up with a dough that isn’t sticky.
- Put the dough in a bowl, cover and let rest for 1/2 hour.
For the filling:
- Add all the prepped ingredients in a bowl and mix till combined.
To make the manti ‘boats’
- Divide the dough in half and using a rolling pin start rolling the dough into a big thin circle (NB: if you have a pasta machine good!!! Use it to thin the dough)
- Cut the dough into 3 cm wide strips and then cut strips into 3 cm squares, you don’t have to be precise, just eyeball it.
- Place a tiny bit of meat mixture in the center of each square and bring together the two sides, pinching the dough together, to form a boat.
- Place the shaped manti into a lightly oiled tray and bake in a preheated oven on 220 until golden.
- You will end up with some leftover dough. Cut this into small cubes (smaller then the manti) and fry till golden. Set aside.
In the meantime prepare the yogurt:
- In a pan add the yogurt, garlic, salt, water and egg and give it a good whisk.
- Turn on the heat on medium and, whisking all the time, warm the yogurt thoroughly. Set aside.
- Take the cooked manti out of the oven and place on the stove top on medium heat.
- Baste using 1/2 cup of hot water.
- Pour the yogurt over the manti and let it come to a gentle boil.
- Turn off heat.
The finish:
- In a frying pan melt the butter and add the mind and tomato paste. Set aside.
To assemble:
- Spoon manti in plate, sprinkle with sumac, top with the fried dough and spoon a bit of the butter over.
- SERVE IMMEDIATELY
Buon appetito!