Mantı

Put 250 g of the flour on a clean surface or in a large bowl and make a well in the middle. Add the egg, 80 ml of water and a pinch of salt. Mix with your fingers, then knead for 8–10 minutes, until the dough is smooth, firm and no longer sticky. It should be stiffer than bread dough. If it is crumbly, add water a teaspoon at a time. Wrap it in cling film or cover it with an upturned bowl.

• wheat flour250 g
• egg1
• water80 mL
• saltto taste

Leave the dough to rest for 30 minutes, which relaxes the gluten and makes it easy to roll thin. Meanwhile, grate the onion and squeeze it in your hands to remove the juice. A wet filling tears the thin dough. Mix the onion with the minced beef, salt and plenty of black pepper until the mixture is evenly combined and slightly sticky. In a separate bowl, stir the yoghurt with the crushed garlic cloves and a pinch of salt, and keep it in the refrigerator.

• minced beef250 g
• onion1
• yoghurt400 g
• garlic2 cloves
• saltto taste
• black pepperto taste

Divide the dough into four pieces. Dust the work surface with the remaining 30 g of flour and roll each piece into a very thin sheet, about 1.5 mm, until the surface shows through it. Cut the sheet into 3 cm squares. Put a scant quarter teaspoon of filling in the centre of each square, then pinch the four corners together over it and press the edges to seal. Lay the manti in one layer on a floured tray as you go. Expect 200 to 250 of them.

• wheat flour30 g
• minced beef250 g

Bring a large pan of well-salted water to a rolling boil and cook the manti in two batches, stirring once so they do not stick. They are done after 5–6 minutes, when they have floated to the top and the dough is tender with a slight bite. While the second batch cooks, melt the butter in a small pan over medium heat. Stir in the pul biber and the dried mint and cook for 1 minute, until the butter foams and turns deep red. Lift the manti out with a slotted spoon and drain them well.

• butter60 g
• pul biber2 tsp
• dried mint2 tsp
• saltto taste

Divide the hot manti between four warm shallow bowls. Spoon the cold garlic yoghurt over them, then pour the sizzling spiced butter on top. The butter should still be hot when it meets the yoghurt, and the manti should be steaming, so assemble each bowl just before it goes to the table. Eat with a spoon, taking yoghurt, butter and dumplings together in each mouthful.

• yoghurt400 g
• butter60 g