Turkish Manti: a recipe

Every summer, I find myself ending up back in Türkiye. Whether it’s Istanbul, Bodrum or somewhere in between, I somehow always end up back in the region whether for work or leisure. The food in this part of the world is really something too. You get a beautiful balance of bold flavours from their intense herbs and spices + some incredible meat dishes that are all wrapped up in a cuisine that’s been perfected over generations.

One of my favourite Turkish dishes aside from Pide and Lahmacun, is manti, pronounced “Manteh”. Whilst it’s a dish you can find in restaurants all across the region, its true place is at home, often made with family and friends during special gatherings. Especially on Sunday.

Think of Manti as Turkey’s answer to ravioli - tiny dumplings filled with spiced lamb, served over garlicky yogurt, and drenched in a deep red, spiced tomato butter. It’s rich, it’s satisfying, and every bite is packed with contrast. Hot and cold, creamy and crisp, rich and savoury.

I’ve made these a few times now and each time I fall in love with them all over again. The dough is incredibly simple to make, and the filling comes together very quickly too. These little morsels are perfect to batch cook and prepare ahead of time – once wrapped, you can simply freeze and whip out to boil right from frozen.

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What to know before you start:

This dish takes time: The meat filling and dough are pretty simple but try and get some help for the wrapping. It’s a great one to get everyone involved!

Manti are small: The filling should be tiny, around half a teaspoon at the most. Overfilling is a mistake. More on this later.

Rest your dough: It’ll make rolling out much easier and prevents shrinking or tearing.

Use cold yogurt: Contrasting temperatures is everything for this one. Cold yogurt, warm manti, hot butter. Execution is important.

Prep ahead: shape the dumplings in advance and set aside in the fridge, ready to boil just before serving.

Serves 4 comfortably.