Kayseri mantı: small dumplings with yoghurt and butter

Mantı is a small filled dumpling, mainly associated with Kayseri. Kayseri mantı are known for their size. An old saying describes them as forty pieces in one boxwood spoon. Kayseri Mantısı is a registered geographical indication in Türkiye.

The dough and filling

The dough is flour, egg, water and salt. It is kneaded for 15 to 30 minutes and rested for 15 to 20 minutes. It is then rolled with a long rolling pin into a circle of about 55 cm, 1 to 1.2 mm thick. The sheets are stacked and cut into squares of about 15 to 16 mm.

The filling is raw, lean minced beef with finely minced onion, basil (reyhan), red pepper powder, black pepper and salt. The basil gives the filling its aroma. Each kilogram of mantı contains at least 300 g of filling, with at least 250 g of meat in it. The corners of each square are pinched together without fully overlapping.

Cooking and serving

Mantı are boiled in salted water over low heat for about 15 minutes, until the dough turns pale. A little cold water is added and most of the water is drained off. The dish is served with a little of its cooking water, not dry.

For the sauce, butter is heated in a pan with tomato paste and red pepper powder. It is poured over the hot mantı and stirred in. Garlic yoghurt or plain yoghurt and sumac go on top if wanted. Dried mint and red pepper flakes are also common.

Origin and when it is eaten

Dumplings of this kind came to Anatolia from Central Asia with Turkic peoples. Seljuk sources from the 13th century already mention several types of mantı, and similar dishes appear in Ottoman palace cooking.

In Kayseri, mantı is a dish for family occasions and for guests. Women meet on mantı days to make them together. For people from Kayseri who live elsewhere, it is a taste of home.

The Kayseri Chamber of Commerce registered Kayseri Mantısı as a geographical indication. It applied in 2006, and the registration date is 10 June 2009. Related local types have been registered since, such as Kayseri yağ mantısı in 2022.

Practical notes

To cook dried mantı at home, boil it in salted water over low heat and add the butter, tomato paste and pepper sauce at the end.