Mantia

Ingredients

Dough

• 500 gplain flour
• 1 tspsalt
• 1egg
• 250 mlwarm water
• 2 tbspoil

Filling

• 500 gminced beef, or a mix of beef and lamb
• 2onions, very finely chopped
• 1 tspsalt
• 1 tspground black pepper
• 1 tsppaprika
• a handful of parsley, chopped

To bake and moisten

• 80 gbutter, melted
• 400 mlhot beef broth

Garlic yoghurt

• 500 gthick yoghurt
• 4garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/2 tspsalt

To finish

• 50 gbutter
• 1 tbsppaprika
• 1 tspdried mint

Directions

1. Chop the onions as finely as you possibly can. A coarse piece of onion will tear the very thin dough. Mix the mince with the onion, salt, pepper, paprika and parsley. Knead it with your hands for three minutes until it is sticky and cohesive.
2. Cover it and refrigerate it while you make the dough. The dough is firm and unenriched apart from one egg. Put the flour and salt in a bowl and make a well. Add the egg, the oil and most of the warm water. Bring it together into a dough.
3. Knead it for twelve minutes until very smooth and elastic. It should be firm rather than soft, since it must roll paper-thin. Cover it with a damp cloth and rest it for forty-five minutes. The rest is what lets you roll it thin without it springing back. Divide the dough into four pieces and keep three covered. Roll one piece out on a lightly floured surface.
4. Keep rolling until it is almost translucent. You should be able to see the pattern of the board through it. Cut the sheet into squares of about three centimetres. Put a very small amount of filling in the centre of each square. About half a teaspoon is right for a square this size. Bring the four corners up over the filling and pinch them together at the top.
5. Pinch the four seams closed down the sides. The finished dumpling should look like a tiny sealed parcel. Set them in a greased baking dish as you go. Pack them close together, standing up, in tight rows. Packing them tightly stops them falling over as they bake.
6. Heat the oven to 190C in good time. Brush the tops generously with melted butter. Bake them uncovered for twenty-five minutes. They should turn golden brown on top and feel firm and dry. Take the dish out and pour the hot broth over the dumplings. Pour it around them rather than directly on top. It should come about halfway up the dumplings.
7. Cover the dish tightly with foil. Return it to the oven for fifteen minutes. Stir the crushed garlic and salt into the thick yoghurt. Let it stand for at least twenty minutes so the garlic infuses.
8. Take it out of the fridge so it is not fridge-cold. Melt the butter in a small pan until it foams. Take it off the heat and stir in the paprika and dried mint. Adding paprika off the heat stops it turning bitter.
9. Spoon the mantia and their broth into bowls. Spoon the garlic yoghurt generously over them. Drizzle the hot paprika butter over the yoghurt. Serve immediately, while the contrast of hot and cool still holds.

Technique

• Bake them dry first, before any broth goes in, which is what distinguishes this version.
• Roll the dough almost translucent, since a thick dough gives a heavy dumpling.
• Chop the onion very finely, as a coarse piece will tear the thin dough.

Substitutions

• Beef alone in place of a beef and lamb mix.
• Strained Greek yoghurt in place of thick local yoghurt.

Variations

• Made larger, which is quicker but less prized.
• With a tomato sauce poured over instead of broth.
• Boiled rather than baked, as in some Turkish versions.

History

Tiny meat dumplings baked then moistened with broth and yoghurt, from the Turkish and Central Asian mantı family.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mantia?

Mantia is a street food from Kosovo: tiny baked meat dumplings with garlic yoghurt, Prizren specialty. Tiny meat dumplings baked then moistened with broth and yoghurt, from the Turkish and Central Asian mantı family.

How long does Mantia take to make?

Mantia takes 1 hour 30 min of preparation and 45 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Mantia?

Yes, within limits. Beef alone in place of a beef and lamb mix. Strained Greek yoghurt in place of thick local yoghurt.

What is the most important thing to get right in Mantia?

Knead it for twelve minutes until very smooth and elastic. It should be firm rather than soft, since it must roll paper-thin. Cover it with a damp cloth and rest it for forty-five minutes. The rest is what lets you roll it thin without it springing back. Divide the dough into four pieces and keep three covered. Roll one piece out on a lightly floured surface.