Kayseri Manti (Turkish Dumplings with Garlic Yogurt)
Tiny squares of egg dough pinched around a spoonful of spiced ground beef and onion, boiled, simmered with a tomato butter sauce, and served under cold garlic yogurt with dried mint, sumac and red pepper.
Manti are the dumplings of Anatolia, and the name connects them to mandu in Korea and mantou in China. Wikipedia says some of the earliest mentions of manti-like dishes are from the Mongol Empire, including a 1330 Chinese court manuscript, and that the recipe is generally thought to have reached Anatolia from Central Asia along the Silk Road with Turkic and Mongol peoples, though some researchers think it went the other way). The earliest written Ottoman recipe, from the 15th century, already served them with garlic yogurt and sumac.
Kayseri, in central Turkey, is famous for making them tiny. Lezzet, a Turkish cooking publication, says nomadic Turks brought manti to Anatolia and that the secret of Kayseri manti is "fitting 40 pieces of manti into a spoon." GoTürkiye, Turkey's tourism agency, describes the finish: garlic yogurt and a butter sauce of Turkish churned butter, red pepper flakes and sometimes tomato or pepper paste, with sumac and dried mint on top.
Why it works the kitchen science
A dry filling
Lezzet says to keep the meat dry and cold; wet onion juice softens tiny dough squares and pulls them out of shape.
Hot and cold
Piping-hot dumplings in tomato butter under cool garlic yogurt is the whole point, and the yogurt's tang cuts the butter.
Step by step
- Step 1
Whisk the egg, warm water and salt in a bowl, then work in the flour gradually and knead into a firm, smooth dough, adding a little more flour if it is soft. Cover with a damp cloth and rest 30 minutes.
- Step 2
Mix the beef with the grated onion, black pepper, red pepper and salt. Keep it dry and cold in the refrigerator while the dough rests.
- Step 3
Stir the garlic into the yogurt and leave it at room temperature.
- Step 4
Roll the dough out on a floured surface as thin as you can, under 1 mm, and cut it into 1 1/4-inch squares. Put a chickpea-size bit of filling on each, bring the four corners up and pinch them into a little sack. Work quickly and keep the dough covered so it doesn't dry.
- Step 5
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the manti and boil uncovered, stirring now and then, about 10 minutes.
- Step 6
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small pan over medium heat and fry the tomato paste in it 1 to 2 minutes. Stir all but 2 tbsp of it into the pot and simmer 10 minutes more, until the dough is tender and the filling of one reads 160°F.
- Step 7
Stir the red pepper flakes into the reserved tomato butter. Spoon the manti with a little of their liquid into bowls, top with the garlic yogurt, drizzle with the red butter and finish with dried mint and sumac.
Kayseri Manti (Turkish Dumplings with Garlic Yogurt)
Serves 6 · 6 bowls · 1 hr 55 min total
Dough
- 1 egg
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
Filling
- 7 oz (200 g) ground beef (or a beef and lamb mix)
- 1 small onion, grated
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (pul biber or Aleppo pepper)
- 1/2 tsp salt
Garlic yogurt
- 2 cups plain whole-milk yogurt
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed with a pinch of salt
Sauce and topping
- 80 g (5 1/2 tbsp) butter
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- Dried mint and sumac, to finish
Method
- Whisk the egg, warm water and salt in a bowl, then work in the flour gradually and knead into a firm, smooth dough, adding a little more flour if it is soft. Cover with a damp cloth and rest 30 minutes.
- Mix the beef with the grated onion, black pepper, red pepper and salt. Keep it dry and cold in the refrigerator while the dough rests.
- Stir the garlic into the yogurt and leave it at room temperature.
- Roll the dough out on a floured surface as thin as you can, under 1 mm, and cut it into 1 1/4-inch squares. Put a chickpea-size bit of filling on each, bring the four corners up and pinch them into a little sack. Work quickly and keep the dough covered so it doesn't dry.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the manti and boil uncovered, stirring now and then, about 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small pan over medium heat and fry the tomato paste in it 1 to 2 minutes. Stir all but 2 tbsp of it into the pot and simmer 10 minutes more, until the dough is tender and the filling of one reads 160°F.
- Stir the red pepper flakes into the reserved tomato butter. Spoon the manti with a little of their liquid into bowls, top with the garlic yogurt, drizzle with the red butter and finish with dried mint and sumac.
Adapted from Lezzet, "Kayseri Manti" (October 7, 2025), serves 6. We follow its amounts (1 egg, 1 cup warm water and 3 cups flour; 200 g minced meat with a small grated onion, black pepper, red pepper and salt; 80 g butter and 2 tablespoons tomato paste) and method: a 30-minute rest under a damp cloth, small squares pinched into sacks, boiled uncovered (12 to 15 minutes in Lezzet's tips), then simmered 10 minutes more with the tomato butter, and served with garlic yogurt, mint and sumac. Lezzet gives no amount for the yogurt, salt or spices, no square size and no heat settings; those, ground beef for "minced meat," and the 160°F check are ours. The rolling thinness (under 1 mm) follows GoTürkiye. lezzet.com.tr. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (3)
Tips
- Lezzet suggests chicken or beef broth in the boiling water for more flavor.
- Grate the onion and squeeze it gently, or chop it very finely, to keep the filling dry.
- Shape the manti on a floured tray; uncooked ones can be frozen in a single layer, then bagged.
- If 1 1/4-inch squares are too fiddly, go bigger; the 40-in-a-spoon size is a Kayseri point of pride, not a rule.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Manti came to Anatolia from Central Asia. Disputed: Wikipedia says that is the general view, but some researchers suggest manti began in the Middle East and spread east.
- Real Kayseri manti fit 40 to a spoon. Folklore: Lezzet repeats the saying; it describes a standard of skill, not a recipe rule.
- Manti and mandu are the same word. Documented as Wikipedia's account: both are linked to Chinese mantou.
- Manti are always boiled. Documented as false: GoTürkiye says they can be boiled, steamed, fried or baked, and Wikipedia says Central Asian manti are steamed.
- Tomato paste belongs in the butter. Disputed: Lezzet uses it; GoTürkiye says "sometimes."
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