Name: Mantı (Turkish Dumplings with Yogurt)
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 85 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Turkish
Ingredients: 1 cup All-Purpose Flour, for dumpling dough; 1 Egg, for dough; 3 tbsp Water, for dough, as needed; ¾ tsp Salt, divided; 150 g Ground Beef, cold; ¼ Onion, finely grated and squeezed; ¼ tsp Ground Black Pepper, for filling; ¾ cup Indian-Style Yogurt, plain and thick; 1 clove Garlic, finely grated; 1½ tbsp Butter, for topping; ½ tsp Paprika, for butter topping; ½ tsp Dried Mint, for finishing

1 hr 25 mintotal

1 hr 5 min hands-on20 min hands-off

Prep 45 min · Cook 20 min

Serves: 2
Difficulty: Hard
Spice: Mild

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Method

Mix flour, egg, water, and part of the salt into a firm dough. Knead until smooth, then cover and rest.
Mix beef mince, grated onion, black pepper, and a little salt for the filling.
Roll the dough thin and cut it into small squares.
Place a tiny amount of filling in the center of each square and pinch the corners closed to form small dumplings.
Boil the dumplings in salted water until the dough is cooked and the filling is done.
Mix curd with grated garlic and a pinch of salt to make the yogurt sauce.
Melt butter in a small pan and stir in paprika and dried mint for a few seconds.
Serve the drained dumplings with garlic yogurt and spoon the warm butter topping over them.

How to tell it's done

The dumplings should be tender but not mushy, with a juicy filling and creamy yogurt sauce.

Getting it right

Tip

Keep the filling amount very small so the dumplings seal properly and cook evenly.

What to serve it with

Serve immediately with extra dried mint, paprika butter, and a simple salad.

Common mistakes

The dumplings burst while boiling.: Use a very small amount of filling and pinch the corners together firmly. Mantı are famously tiny, and a square packed full cannot be sealed properly — the traditional test is how many fit on a spoon.
The yogurt sauce splits when the hot butter hits it.: Let the yogurt come to room temperature and spoon the dumplings on before the butter. Fridge-cold yogurt under sizzling butter separates and goes grainy.

Substitutions

Lamb mince can replace beef mince for a richer filling.
The dumplings can be made slightly larger for easier home preparation, though traditional mantı is very small.
Do not skip the garlic yogurt and butter topping; they define the dish.

Storing and reheating

Uncooked mantı keep two days in the fridge on a floured tray and freeze for three months — boil from frozen. Cooked ones do not keep well; they swell and stick. Make the garlic yogurt fresh, as it sharpens overnight.

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Ingredients