Afghan Meat Filled Pasta Mantou Food

AFGHAN MANTU - SAVORY BEEF & ONION FILLED DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the yogurt, dried mint, garlic, and salt to taste.
• Depending on the thickness of your yogurt, whisk in enough water, 1 tablespoon at a time, to achieve a creamy, yet drizzle-able consistency. I typically use Greek yogurt, and find that 1 cup of yogurt needs about 5 tablespoons of water.
• Set aside, covered in the refrigerator, until ready to use.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium high heat, until the oil begins to shimmer and move around the skillet. Add the beef, 1 teaspoon salt, turmeric, ground coriander, garlic, and pepper to the skillet, and cook, stirring frequently and breaking up any big chunks of ground beef, until the beef is cooked through and most of the moisture has evaporated.
• Remove from the heat, and stir in the minced onion and cilantro. Allow the mixture to cool slightly before moving on to the next step.
• Place a small spoonful of the stuffing into the center of a wonton wrapper.
• With your fingertip or a pastry brush, brush a small amount of water on the outside edges of the wrapper to make it slightly sticky. Shape the wrapper into a dumpling by first gently pinching two opposite corners together, then gently pinching the remaining two corners together.
• Repeat with the remaining wrappers, covering them loosely with a towel or plastic wrap until ready to steam.
• Don't worry if you end up with more filling than wrappers. Reserve the extra filling and scatter it over the finished dish as a garnish.
• Heat your oven to its lowest possible temperature, around 175°F. You will likely need to cook the mantu in batches, and you'll want to keep them warm in the oven until ready to serve.
• Meanwhile, heat an inch or two of water in a pot fitted with a steamer insert. Be sure the water doesn't touch the bottom of the insert. Adjust the temperature so the water stays at a steady, steamy simmer - gently bubbling and steaming, without boiling furiously.
• Brush the surface of the steamer insert with a small amount of oil, and gently place the mantu in a single layer, working in batches if necessary. Cover and steam until the wrappers are tender and slightly translucent, about 8 minutes. Repeat with the remaining mantu.
• Gently wrap the steamed mantu in a piece of foil that has been lightly brushed with oil, and place in the warm oven until ready to serve.
• Spread half the yogurt mixture over the surface of a large serving platter. Gently pile the steamed mantu on the platter, and decoratively drizzle about 1/4 of the yogurt mixture on top. Place the remaining yogurt in a dish for dipping at the table. Garnish the platter of mantu with a dusting of cayenne pepper and cilantro leaves.

AFGHAN MEAT FILLED PASTA (MANTOU)

Steps:

• To Make the Yogurt Sauce: Mix together the 1 cup yogurt, 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder and 1/4 teaspoons salt.
• Chill until ready to serve.
• To Make the Tomato Sauce: Slice the 1/2 yellow onion and boil in a medium-size saucepan with the 1 1/2 cups water until tender.
• Drain.
• In a blender put the cooked onion slices, 8 oz. tomato sauce, 1 1/2 teaspoons oil, 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander and 1/2 teaspoons salt.
• Puree.
• Put into a medium-size saucepan.
• Add the diced carrot and chickpeas and cook the tomato sauce until the carrots are tender.
• To Make the Stuffed Pasta: In a large frying pan cook the meat, 2 diced onions, green bell pepper, 1 Table. garlic powder, 1 Table. ground coriander, 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper and 1/4 teaspoons cayenne.
• When browned, add 2 cups water and cook until the water evaporates.
• Let cool somewhat.
• Put 1 Table. of the meat mixture in the center of a won ton square (3 1/2 " x 3 1/2").
• Wet edges with water.
• Pull 2 opposite corners together in center and firmly seal.
• Do the same with the opposite corners, sealing all together.
• Repeat with remaining filling and won ton wrappers until of it is all used up.
• Oil a metal vegetable steamer and place the filled won tons on it.
• Cover and steam 15-20 minutes.
• To Serve: Spread a thin layer of yogurt sauce on each plate.
• Put stuffed pasta on each plate and drizzle a little yogurt over each.
• Drizzle tomato sauce over each pasta.
• Garnish with the dried mint leaves and chopped fresh cilantro.

MANTOU

Steps:

• Dissolve the sugar and yeast in the warm water for 5-10 minutes until frothy. Sift the flour into a mixing bowl, then gradually stir in the yeast mixture to make a firm dough. Knead for 5 minutes, then cover with a damp cloth and leave in a warm place to rise for 1-1 1/2 hours.
• Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for about 5 minutes, then roll into a long sausage. Cut into about 24 pieces and flatten each piece with the palm of your hand. With a rolling pin, roll out each piece into a circle about 4 inches in diameter.
• Place a piece of wet cheesecloth on the rack of a steamer, arrange the buns 1 inches apart on the cheesecloth, cover and steam vigorously for 15-20 minutes. Serve hot.
• I guess you can use waxpaper and cut them into squares for the bottom of the buns like they do in shops (instead of using cheesecloth), but I never tried it yet.