Turkish dumplings with yogurt and tomato sauce

Our last week of 2013 was all mixed up by the flu that put us all in bed and left without my planned cake, a glass of sparkling wine and any celebrations. But now we are almost fine, just trying to avoid crowded places and public transportation as it seems that virus is having a blast in Turkey. Every second person seems to be ill or has just recovered. Still I hope this New Year will bring us health, a lot of happy moments together, time for little pleasures with a book or a good movie. Happy New Year everyone!

Steamed manti with yogurt and tomato sauce

Serves 4

What you need:

Dough:

• 3 cups flour;
• 1 egg;
• a pinch of salt;
• 4-5 tbsp water.

Filling:

• 250 g ground beef;
• 1 medium onion;
• a handful of chopped parsley;
• salt and black pepper;
• a pinch of cumin and ground corriander.

Sauce:

• 1 tbsp butter;
• 1 tbsp tomato paste;
• a bit of water or beef stock;
• a pinch of ground cinnamon;
• salt and black pepper;
• 1 clove of garlic;
• a pinch of red pepper flakes;
• a pinch of dried mint;
• 5 tbsp yogurt.

What you have to do:

1. Prepare the dough. In a bowl mix flour, salt, egg and slowly add water. Knead until the dough is smooth. Cover the dough and leave it for 20 minutes.
2. Peel and finely chop the onion and parsley. In a bowl mix ground beef, onion, parsley, add salt and black pepper, cumin, corriander.
3. Divide the dough into 4 pieces and roll out each piece into a thin rectangle. Cut out squares and add a teaspoon of filling. Take the corners and fold and press the sides. Repeat with the rest of the dough and filling.
4. In a pot add some water and put a bowl in it. There should not be any water inside the bowl. Bring the pot of water to bowl and arrange some dumplings into the bowl.Cover with a lid and cook for about 10 minutes. Repeat with the rest of the manti.
5. Prepare the sauce. In a pan melt butter and add tomato puree. Pour some water or beef stock to make the sauce thinner. Season with salt and pepper, add spices. Remove from heat. Mix yogurt with finely grated garlic and some salt.
6. Serve manti with some tomato and yogurt sauces sprinkled with some dried mint. Serve and enjoy!