Turkish Vegetarian Manti
“I became vegetarian when I was 4-years-old, but it was impossible to find a vegetarian version of my favorite dish, manti, since it’s made with beef. Knowing this, my mum would occasionally buy substitute meat (which was always difficult to find), and make a vegetarian version for me. After I cooked it myself, I realised how time consuming it was, and it made me appreciate the time my mum spent just so I could have my favourite food. Now, I cook it on special occasions, and when I go back home, I cook it for my family.”
Cansu Oktem, BSc Biological Sciences student
Here's how to make this delicious dish...
Ingredients
Dough
250ml water
1 egg
350-450g flour
1 tbsp salt
10ml vegetable oil
Filling
75g of textured soy or pea
protein
20g of mushrooms, diced*
1/2 onion
2 tbsp tomato paste*
1.5 tbsp salt
1.5tsp of cayenne pepper, black pepper,
smoked paprika, cinnamon,* sumac*
Topping
200g yogurt
½ head of garlic
Juice of ½ lemon (optional)
4 tbsp butter or olive oil
1 tbsp tomato or pepper paste
Top Tip!
Textured soya/pea proteins are sold in Holland & Barrett and Planet Organic. You can alternatively get Quorn mince from Lidl, Tesco etc, but since Quorn is less bland, the seasonings listed in the recipe will have to be adjusted accordingly. This recipe is vegetarian.
*These ingredients aren’t usually used in authentic Manti made with beef, but I add them to this vegetarian version since pea/soya
protein is very bland without seasoning.
Directions
- Mix the flour, water, egg, salt, and vegetable oil together to form a dough, and knead it until it becomes smooth. Add more flour if the dough is too sticky. You can check if you need to knead the dough more by making a small imprint with your finger: if the imprint begins to spring up, the dough is ready.
- Let the dough rest for 1 hour.
- Soak the textured protein in hot water for 10-20 minutes, or according to package directions. Then, drain the water.
- Mix the textured protein with diced mushrooms, diced onion, tomato paste, salt, pepper, and other spices of choice. Squish the filling with your hands to make it more homogenous.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- After the dough has rested for 1 hour, cut it into 6 pieces. Working
with 1 piece at a time, roll out the dough until it is about 2-5 mm
thick. - Cut the dough into squares. The size of the square is up to your
preference but beware that smaller squares will be more time consuming! Aim for between 3×3 to 6×6 cm.
- To fold the manti, put a spoon of filling into the centre of the squares. Pinch together 2 opposite corners, and then repeat with the other corners, so that they all meet together in the centre. Make sure all the edges are sealed. If the dough is losing its shape after you pinch, place some flour in between your fingers as you pinch.
- Place the manti on a baking tray, and bake until the manti look dry, until about 15-20 minutes. This is to make sure that they don’t stick together when boiling.
- As the manti is baking, mix the minced garlic and the yogurt together. Optionally, add a squeeze of lemon juice.
- After the manti comes out the oven, bring water to a boil in a pot and boil the manti for 8-10 minutes, then drain the water.
- In a small pan, bring the butter or olive oil to medium heat. Add
the tomato or pepper paste and the herbs of choice. Cook until fragrant. - Place the manti on a plate and add the garlic yogurt on top. Add the oil or butter sauce on top while it’s still hot.
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