Mantı — Turkish Dumplings with Yogurt
Tiny Turkish dumplings filled with spiced lamb, boiled and drowned in garlicky yogurt, then finished with a sizzle of pul biber butter and dried mint. A labour of love, traditionally folded by the dozen.
Make a firm egg dough and rest it. Mix a filling of ground lamb, grated onion, salt, and pepper. Roll the dough very thin, cut into small squares, place a tiny dot of filling on each, and pinch into little parcels. Boil until they float. Serve under garlicky yogurt with a drizzle of melted butter bloomed with pul biber and dried mint.
- Roll the dough as thin as you can and cut small — traditional mantı are tiny, the smaller the prouder.
- Just a dot of filling per square — they're about the delicate dough as much as the meat.
- The garlic yogurt and the pul biber butter on top are non-negotiable — they make the dish.
Equipment
- Rolling pin (or pasta machine)
- Sharp knife or pastry wheel
- Large pot
- Small pan (for the butter)
सामग्री
Dough
- 300 g plain flour
- 1 egg
- 120 ml water, approximately
- 3 g salt
Filling
- 250 g ground lamb (or beef)
- 1 small onion, finely grated and squeezed
- 5 g salt
- Black pepper, pinch of red pepper
To serve
- 400 g thick yogurt
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 40 g butter
- 5 g pul biber (Aleppo pepper)
- 2 g dried mint
विधि
- स्टेप01
Mix the flour, egg, salt, and most of the water into a firm, smooth dough. Knead 8 minutes, then cover and rest 30 minutes — resting makes it roll thin without springing back.
- स्टेप02
Mix the lamb with the grated, squeezed onion, salt, and peppers until well combined.
- स्टेप03
Roll the dough out as thin as possible on a floured surface (or use a pasta machine). Cut into small 3 cm squares.
- स्टेप04
Place a tiny dot of filling (a quarter-teaspoon) in the centre of each square. Bring the four corners up and pinch them together into a little sealed parcel. It's slow work — put on music.
- स्टेप05
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the mantı in batches until they float and the dough is tender, 5–8 minutes. Drain.
- स्टेप06
Stir the crushed garlic into the yogurt with a pinch of salt. Spoon the warm mantı into bowls, blanket with garlic yogurt. Melt the butter, take off the heat, stir in the pul biber and dried mint, and drizzle the red sizzling butter over the top. Serve immediately.
Make ahead
Mantı are made for batch production. Fold a big batch and freeze raw; boil from frozen whenever you want them. The dough and filling can also be made a day ahead.
Storage
Cooked mantı are best fresh. Uncooked mantı freeze beautifully — freeze on a tray then bag, and boil from frozen (add a couple of minutes). That's the way to make the labour worth it.
Variations
Kayseri mantı
The famous tiny version from Kayseri — folded so small that '40 fit on a spoon' is the proud boast.
Baked first (fırın mantısı)
Toast the raw parcels in the oven until golden, then simmer briefly in broth before saucing — nuttier and deeper.
Vegetarian
Fill with spiced lentils or potato instead of meat.
Serve with
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition values are estimates based on the metric measurements. Adjust as needed.
अक्सर पूछे जाने वाले
Do mantı have to be tiny?
Traditionally, yes — especially the famed Kayseri style, where the dumplings are so small that fitting 40 on a single spoon is a point of pride. Small mantı are about the delicate, thin dough as much as the filling. Larger ones are fine and faster, but tiny is the ideal.
How much filling per dumpling?
Just a tiny dot — about a quarter-teaspoon. Mantı are delicate parcels, not stuffed dumplings; the balance is mostly thin dough with a savory nugget of meat inside. Overfilling makes them burst and clumsy.
Can I freeze them?
Yes — and you should, given the work. Freeze the raw folded mantı in a single layer on a tray, then bag them. Boil straight from frozen, adding a couple of minutes. A freezer stash makes future meals quick.
What are the two sauces?
Garlicky yogurt spooned over the dumplings, and melted butter bloomed with pul biber (Aleppo pepper) and dried mint drizzled on top. Together they define mantı — the cool tang of yogurt against the warm spiced butter.
Lamb or beef?
Both are common. Lamb is the more traditional and flavorful; beef is leaner and milder. A mix works well too. The onion (grated and squeezed) keeps the filling juicy.
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