- Tiny hand-folded dumplings with minced meat
- Garlic yogurt
- Melted butter with paprika and dried mint
Mantı
Mantı dumplings being eaten in Cappadocia. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Mantı are tiny dumplings, each no bigger than a fingernail, filled with minced meat, boiled and served under garlic yogurt with melted butter, paprika and dried mint. Kayseri claims them as its own, and the smaller the dumpling, the greater the cook's skill.
A proper plate holds dozens of them. The yogurt must be garlic-sharp, the butter must sizzle with paprika when it hits.
Key ingredients
Where to try it
- Kayseri: the mantı houses of the old city.
- Mantı specialists in Istanbul and Ankara.
- Eaten as a main course, with sumac and extra butter.