Homemade Kayserili Manti aka Turkish Dumplings

Ingredients

• 2 pounds Flour
• 2 Eggs
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 Water
• 2 Small Onions
• 1 pound Ground Beef
• 2 Teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1 Can Tomato Paste
• 4-6 Cloves Garlic, crushed
• 1 1/2 Cups Full Fat Plain Yogurt
• To taste Crushed Dried Mint, Red Pepper Flakes, Sumac

Cooking Directions

1. Get a large bowl and place a little less than a kilo of flour which is about a little less than a 5 pound bag of flour (if you want to be exact, a kilo is 2.2 pounds so use about 2 pounds) add 2 eggs, salt and water. Start with a cup of water but pour in about half a cup and then add the rest till you get a dough that is not too wet. Form it into a ball and let rest while you prepare the filling.
2. Grate two small onions into a bowl add salt, pepper and 1 pound of ground beef. Mix well, cover and put in fridge until ready to use.
3. I have a large round wooden board (bought at Lowe's) that I roll my dough on but you can use your countertop or table. Sprinkle the surface where you will be rolling the dough with flour and place about half of the dough on the board. Using an oklava (Turkish rollling pin) or a long 1/2 inch diameter dowel, roll the dough as thin as possible. Lift the dough with the oklava and gently let it layer the dough like an accordion. Cut this layered stack of dough in 1 inch strips then unfold them and stack one on top of the other. Cut these stacks in 1 inch squares. Sprinkle a tray with flour and fluff the squares of dough onto the tray.
4. Next you can start stuffing the dumplings. Take a fingertip amount of the meat filling and place in the center of the square. Pinch the corners to the center and place on another tray leaving space between the dumplings so they do not stick together. When you have used all the dough, take the other half of dough and roll out the same as above. Fill the squares with the remaining meat filling.
5. Put a large stockpot of salted water on the stove to boil. In the mean time, put a table spoon of olive oil in a saucepan and heat. Add one can of tomato paste, salt, pepper and water to make into a sauce. Next make the garlic yogurt. Crush about 4-6 cloves of garlic with salt and mix in a bowl with 1 1/2 cups full fat plain yogurt. Stir well, cover and refrigerate until ready to use. When the water boils, carefully place some of the manti into the boiling water. Boil about 6 - 8 minutes (they will float to the top and you can test one to be sure it is done). Once the dumplings are cooked, ladle the dumplings into bowls and add some of the cooking broth to the bowl. Top with the sauce, a spoonful of the garlic yogurt, crushed dried mint, red pepper flakes and sumac (optional). Enjoy piping hot! Afiyet Olsun!