Name: Lamb and hot pepper manti
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Turkish
Ingredients: 325g plain flour plus extra for dusting; 1 egg; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 medium red onion grated; 300g 20% fat lamb mince; 1 tbsp biber salçası (hot Turkish pepper paste); 2 tsp dried mint; 300g greek yogurt plus extra to serve; 2 large garlic cloves finely minced; 15g dill finely chopped, plus extra to serve; 75g butter; 2 tsp aleppo pepper flakes; 1 tsp sumac

An oval-shaped serving plate full of Turkish dumplings

Try our lamb and hot pepper manti, then discover more Turkish recipes, such as Turkish eggs, Turkish gozleme, Turkish lahmacun, Turkish stuffed peppers and pide.

Food and drink trends specialist Gurdeep Loyal says: "Manti are Turkish dumplings stuffed with whose tasty rewards more than warrant the effort – championed by top chefs like Selin Kiazim of Leydi and Hasan ‘Big Has’ Semay. For Özlem Warren, author of Sebze, they are particularly special. 'Manti always brings back fond memories,' she tells me. 'My grandparents, my parents, whoever was around, would gather round the table to join the manti-making ritual at home. Some would prepare the filling, some would stretch the dough, of course with a constant flow of tea, coffee and daily banter.'

"The dough is hand-kneaded, rested, then rolled thin before being stuffed and shaped. The most traditional filling in Turkey is a combination of grated onions, minced lamb or beef (or both) and seasonings, shaped into square pyramids. They can be small ravioli-sized or larger dumplings, which are either boiled or steamed.

"However, Özlem explains, regionally in Turkey 'we also make vegetarian manti, especially in the north-western part of the country, with a spiced, mashed chickpea and caramelised onion filling, shaped as small boats'. What makes manti especially suitable for a feast are the layers of flavour that come with them, as they’re always served with garlicky yogurt and a spiced oil or butter sauce. Özlem likes 'a mix of olive oil, pepper paste, dried mint, sumac and pul biber in my sauce – it’s a combination that makes manti an irresistible, melt in the mouth flavour sensation'. Her top tips for shaping are to lightly dust your fingers with flour, to seal the ends well and to par-bake the manti before boiling.

"Variations on manti are found in Central and West Asia – particularly in Afghani, Uzbek and Armenian cuisines, where they can include ingredients like cabbage and pumpkin, and are often baked until crispy or fried. Head to restaurants like Yeni in Soho to try its manti with dried aubergine and double fermented yogurt; Noshe Afghan restaurant in Cambridge for its beef mantu dumplings on a bed of lentils; and Gözleme House on Green Lanes in London for its Turkish manti with lamb or potato."

Lamb and hot pepper manti recipe

325g plain flour
plus extra for dusting
1 egg
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium red onion
grated
300g 20% fat lamb mince
1 tbsp biber salçası (hot Turkish pepper paste)
2 tsp dried mint
300g greek yogurt
plus extra to serve
2 large garlic cloves
finely minced
15g dill
finely chopped, plus extra to serve
75g butter
2 tsp aleppo pepper flakes
1 tsp sumac

Method

step 1
For the pastry, mix together the flour and 1/2 tsp of fine salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle, crack in the egg and add the oil, then measure 125ml of water in a jug and slowly drizzle in a little of it. Use your hands to bring the flour into the middle, then keep adding the water a little at a time, combining everything into a slightly tacky dough. Empty onto a well-floured surface and knead for 8-10 mins until smooth and elastic. Cover and rest in the fridge for 30 mins.
step 2
Put the onion into a bowl, then sprinkle over 1/2 tsp of salt. Leave for 5 mins, then drain in a sieve to remove any excess liquid. Return to the bowl and add the lamb, pepper paste, mint and 1 tsp of fine salt. Combine everything well with your hands then cover.
step 3
Flour a worksurface well. Take a third of the dough and roll it out into a large 1/2 cm-thin rectangle. Use a ruler and knife to cut the pastry into 5cm x 5cm squares. Spoon a heaped 1/2 tsp of the lamb into the middle of each square. Bring opposite corners of the pastry into the middle, then use your fingers to crimp along each of the seams. Put them on a large baking sheet lined with baking paper. Repeat until you have used up all the dough and mince – you should get around 25 dumplings out of each third of the dough (so 75 dumplings in total).
step 4
Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. You can either bake until crispy for 25 mins or, alternatively, par-bake for 10 mins, then boil for 8 mins to finish.
step 5
Mix together the yogurt, garlic and dill, then spread out in a thin layer over a large serving platter, keeping a little to drizzle over the top. In a small frying pan, melt the butter for 2 mins until it starts to brown, then add the aleppo pepper and sumac, mix well and remove from the heat.
step 6
Scatter the cooked dumplings onto the yogurt, then spoon over the chilli butter. Finish with an extra drizzle of yogurt and more dill.