Manti Food

ARMENIAN MANTI (BAKED BEEF DUMPLINGS)

Steps:

• Beat together the eggs, water, salt, and olive oil.
• To make the dough by hand, fill a large mixing bowl with the flour and make a well in the center. Add the wet ingredients to the well. Slowly incorporate the flour into the wet ingredients until a ball of dough is formed. Alternatively to make the dough in a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, add the flour to the mixer bowl, then add the wet ingredients and mix for 3 to 4 minutes until smooth and pliable. If the dough is sticky add a bit of flour as needed, and continue to mix/knead the dough until smooth. Cover the dough with a tea towel and set aside for 30 minutes.
• Mix together the ground beef, onion, parsley, salt, pepper, and paprika until well incorporated. Refrigerate until needed.
• Preheat the oven to 400°F and place the oven rack in the center of the oven. Grease 2 (13 by 9-inch) baking pans or 1 larger (13 by 18-inch) pan with butter and set aside.
• Using a hand-cranked pasta roller or a rolling pin, in batches roll out the dough until it's very thin, dusting the dough with flour as needed. If using the Kitchenaid pasta roller attachment, roll until #4 for thickness (see notes below).
• On a lightly floured surface, cut each strip of dough into 1 ½ inch squares. Place a ½ teaspoon of meat filling into the center of each square and pinch the two ends with your fingers to form a canoe-shaped dumpling.
• Repeat with the remaining dough and meat filling. Arrange the manti close together in the buttered pans. Dot the tops of the manti with bits of butter, and bake for about 40 to 50 minutes, or until golden brown.
• Meanwhile, mix the yogurt and garlic, and season with salt. Set aside.
• Add the chicken broth and water to a saucepan and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer.
• When the manti are golden brown, remove the pans from the oven and ladle the broth mixture over the manti. The broth should fill the pan about ¾ of the way up the manti. Reserve the rest of the broth for serving.
• Return the pans to the oven and bake for 10 minutes longer until most of the broth is absorbed into the manti, and about ¼-inch of broth (or less) remains on the bottom and the manti have slightly plumped up. They will have a firmer than al dente texture, with a slight crunch at the ends, but you can bake them longer with the broth if you want a slightly softer texture.
• Remove the pans from the oven and serve manti in individual wide bowls, ladling some more of the hot broth over it. Top with yogurt-garlic sauce and sumac. Enjoy!

HOMEMADE MANTI (TRADITIONAL TURKISH DUMPLINGS)

Steps:

• Combine the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the eggs and water, mixing well with your hands. Add more water, if needed, to form a soft dough. Cover and set aside for at least 30 minutes.
• Shred the onions and place them in a colander or sieve set over a bowl; drain the juice and discard. Combine the onion, ground beef, salt, and pepper; mix the meat well with a spoon until mashed.
• Divide the dough into two portions and lightly flour a work surface. Keep one piece of dough covered while you roll out the second portion into a rectangle, rolling the dough as thin as you can. Cut the rectangle into 2-inch squares with a knife or pastry wheel.
• Place about 2 teaspoons of the meat filling in the center of each square. Seal the dumplings by gathering the edges of the dough and pinching them together at the top to form a bundle. Transfer the finished manti to a floured plate, and sprinkle more flour over the manti to prevent sticking. Repeat with the second piece of dough.
• Heat the oil and red pepper flakes in a small skillet over low heat just until the pepper flakes have started to color the oil; don't let them burn. Remove from the heat and keep warm. Stir the minced garlic into the yogurt and set aside.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium-high heat, and cook the manti until the filling is no longer pink, and the dough is tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain well. Divide the manti among four plates. Spoon the yogurt sauce over the manti and drizzle each serving with the hot pepper oil.

MANTI WITH YOGURT SAUCE

Steps:

• To make the filling: Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking. Stir in the onion and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the lamb and the parsley, and cook, stirring and breaking up any lumps, until the lamb changes color. Remove from heat and generously season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
• To make the pasta: Sift the 2 cups of flour and salt together into a bowl. Make a well in the center and place the egg and 1/2 cup water in the well. Work the dough with your hands or a wooden spoon into a smooth dough. (You might find that you will need more water if you are rolling the pasta by hand and less if you are using a hand-turned pasta machine.) Knead the dough for at least 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Cover the dough with a towel and let rest for 1 hour. Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Roll out each piece to 1/16-inch thick with a rolling pin or a pasta machine, and cut into 3-inch squares, discarding the uneven edges. Place 1 to 2 teaspoons filling into the center of each square. Moisten the entire outer edge with water, bring the 4 corners together in the center and pinch tightly to seal, then pinch together the 4 straight edges to seal completely (take care with this step, sealing the dumplings thoroughly will ensure that they will not become unsealed in the water and lose the filling). Repeat with remaining pasta and filling. Place the manti on a lightly floured baking sheet in a single layer.
• To make the yogurt sauce: Drain the yogurt at room temperature through a very fine mesh strainer over a bowl for 30 minutes and discard the whey. Stir together the yogurt and garlic in a bowl and let stand at warm room temperature until ready to use.
• To make the butter sauce: In a small skillet over moderate heat cook the butter until it is a very light brown, remove the skillet from the heat, and stir in the paprika, coarse salt to taste, and the hot red pepper sauce.
• In a large kettle of boiling salted water cook the manti, in batches, stirring to keep them from sticking together, about 7 minutes, or until the pressed together edges are al dente (they will the the longest to cook). Remove them when done with a long-handled sieve or a large slotted spoon and keep warm with a little of the warm cooking liquid. Serve the manti very hot in individual bowls, spoon some of the yogurt sauce, then drizzle some butter sauce and garnish with mint leaves. Pass the remaining yogurt sauce at the table.
• Drink: Cankaya Kavaklidere.

MANTI (TRADITIONAL TURKISH DUMPLINGS)

Steps:

• Combine the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the eggs and water, mixing well with your hands. Add more water, if needed, to form a soft dough. Cover and set aside for at least 30 minutes.
• Shred the onions and place them in a colander or sieve set over a bowl; drain the juice and discard. Combine the onion, ground beef, salt, and pepper; mix the meat well with a spoon until mashed.
• Divide the dough into two portions and lightly flour a work surface. Keep one piece of dough covered while you roll out the second portion into a rectangle, rolling the dough as thin as you can. Cut the rectangle into 2-inch squares with a knife or pastry wheel.
• Place about 2 teaspoons of the meat filling in the center of each square. Seal the dumplings by gathering the edges of the dough and pinching them together at the top to form a bundle. Transfer the finished manti to a floured plate, and sprinkle more flour over the manti to prevent sticking. Repeat with the second piece of dough.
• Heat the oil and red pepper flakes in a small skillet over low heat just until the pepper flakes have started to color the oil; don't let them burn. Remove from the heat and keep warm. Stir the minced garlic into the yogurt and set aside.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium-high heat, and cook the manti until the filling is no longer pink, and the dough is tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain well. Divide the manti among four plates. Spoon the yogurt sauce over the manti and drizzle each serving with the hot pepper oil.