Mantı

Mini Ravioli in Garlicy Yogurt Sauce 

• 3-4 c. Flour
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 3 Eggs
• 1 ½ Onions, finely chopped
• ½ pound Ground Beef or Lamb
• ½ tsp. Black Pepper
• 1 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
• ½ tsp. Salt
• 1 T. Olive Oil
• 1 lb. Plain Yogurt (thick-style)
• 3 cloves Garlic, minced
• 2 T. Butter

1. Pour Flour into a mixing bowl and add Salt. Stir to mix.
2. Add 3 Eggs. Use your hands to mix until dough forms a lump able to be kneaded.
3. Turn dough onto an unfloured surface and knead for about 10 minutes. Dough will turn from sticky, to firm, to fairly soft.
4. Divide dough into 2 or 3 pieces and roll each into a smooth ball.
5. Place back in bowl and cover with a damp paper towel. Let rest for 10 minutes.
6. In a separate bowl knead together Onions, Meat, & Spices until thoroughly mixed. Set aside.
7. Turn 1 ball of dough onto a lightly floured surface and dust the top with flour as well.
8. Using a long skinny rolling pin quickly roll out the dough until it is thinner than a pie crust, but not too thin that it rips.
9. Using a sharp knife, cut strips lengthwise 2-3 centimeters in width.
10. Cut strips the same width crosswise so that it creates small squares of dough.
11. Place pea-sized pieces of the meat mixture on the middle of each square of dough.
12. Working quickly so the dough doesn’t dry out, pick up each square and fold all four corners into the middle and pinch together to seal. (Or in some regions of Turkey they prefer a triangular shape. To accomplish this simply fold the square in half diagonally so that 2 corners match and then pinch both sides to seal.) Refer to picture below for steps 9-12.
13. Once all of the mantı is made it’s time to cook it! To do this you will need a large pot with boiling water (just like you would to cook noodles.)
14. Add 1 T. Olive Oil and 1 T. Salt to the boiling water and stir to mix.
15. Add the mantı to the pot and stir gently so that they don’t stick together. They will cook quickly and rise to the top when they are finished (maybe 5-10 minutes depending on temperature).
16. Use a colander to strain the mantı.
17. Mix crushed Garlic with Yogurt and a dash of Salt. Mix in with the hot mantı.
18. Using a small frying pan, melt the Butter and add some more Red Pepper Flakes (to the spiciness desired).
19. Drizzle the melted Butter and Red Pepper on top of the mantı. Enjoy!

*Note: It is best to make this together with a group of friends so that you can sit and chat as it can be a long and overwhelming process for just one person. Traditionally in Turkey, several women will sit together and have a grand time chatting as they make this special dish for their families to enjoy.