Uzbek Manti
6 servings
80 minutes
Uzbek manti is a culinary heritage of ancient Eastern traditions that embodies the taste and aroma of sunny Uzbekistan. Their delicate dough, made with icy water, has exquisite elasticity, while the juicy filling of lamb generously seasoned with onions and spicy cumin fills each manti with a unique bouquet of flavors. The addition of tail fat gives juiciness and richness to the dish, making it particularly nourishing. Manti are cooked in a special steamer, which preserves all the juiciness of the filling and gives them a soft texture. They are eaten hot, smeared with butter and often accompanied by fresh onions and peppers to enhance the flavor nuances. Uzbek manti is not just food; it is a whole gastronomic story filled with the warmth of home and the spirit of Eastern hospitality.
1
Dough: first, put water in the freezer for 30 minutes. The water should be icy. In a bowl with water, dissolve salt and gradually add flour. I didn't specify the amount of flour. Take as much as needed. Knead a firm dough, like for dumplings. The dough should be elastic, without lumps, and not stick to your hands. Roll the dough into a ball, place it in a bag, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Water: 400 ml
- Salt: 1 teaspoon
- Wheat flour: to taste
2
While our dough is resting, we start making the filling. First, cut the meat into 1 cm thick slices, then cut the slices into strips, and the strips into 0.5×0.5 cm cubes. Cut the tail fat in the same way. Do not mix the fat with the meat. Set it aside. You can freeze it a bit to make it easier to cut. Also, chop the onion into cubes. Now combine the meat with the onion. Mix well. Add salt, pepper, a couple of pinches of cumin, and mix everything well again.
- Lamb fillet: 1 kg
- Onion: 1.5 kg
- Fat tail fat: 200 g
- Salt: 1 teaspoon
- Ground black pepper: to taste
- Cumin (zira): to taste
3
Now place the steamer (manty maker) on the stove, first removing the tiers from the top part of the steamer. Pour plenty of water into the bottom pot so you don't have to add more later. Set it to boil.
4
We take our rested dough out of the fridge. Ideally, the dough can be kneaded twice - knead it, let it rest, knead again, and back to the fridge.
5
So, the dough. We cut our ball into sticks. We slice the sticks like sausage into pieces about 5×5 cm thick. I love small manty, so I make the pieces smaller. Next, we roll the pieces into balls. We roll the balls into flatbreads 1 mm thick. Here, everyone has their own preference; those who like thicker dough roll out thicker flatbreads. The edges of the flatbread should be thinner than the middle. Then, we place about 1 tablespoon of filling and 2 pieces of tail fat on the flatbread. And we form the manty. The most important thing is to seal the edges of the manty well, otherwise, they will come apart.
- Fat tail fat: 200 g
6
Next, we take a plate, pour vegetable oil into it, and dip each manty before placing it on the sheet (only the bottom of the manty) so they don't stick during cooking. Then we fill all the tiers of the steamer with manty, remembering to dip them in oil, and place the tiers in the pot. We tightly close the lid of our steamer and forget about it for 40-50 minutes. Well, not completely forget, we occasionally check to ensure the water in the bottom pot doesn't evaporate. The water should be boiling quite strongly.
- Water: 400 ml
- Ground red pepper: to taste
7
Next, after 50 minutes, we take out the layers and carefully remove the manti. It's important not to tear the dough when taking off the manti. We transfer them to a bowl and brush each manti with butter. Or simply melt the butter and generously pour it over the manti. Cover our bowl with a plate and wrap it in a towel.
- Water: 400 ml
- Salt: 1 teaspoon
8
Now we take the onion, slice it thinly into half-rings. Rinse with cold water, squeeze well, and sprinkle with red pepper (you can also soak the onion in vinegar for a while, then drain the liquid and sprinkle with pepper).
- White onion: 0.5 kg
- Ground red pepper: to taste