Recipe: Mantu from Afghanistan (using wonton wrappers) for Kathy

Hi again, Kathy :-) Here is a recipe for Mantu that I found on the internet that uses wonton wrappers. The Turkish Manti recipe that I have in my cookbook calls for making the dough, filling and baking the Manti until lightly browned, then adding boiling chicken stock over the dumplings and baking until they have absorbed moisture from the stock so they become puffy and tender...so I wonder if the recipe below might be closer to what you are looking for??!? Good luck with your search and do let me know if you want the other recipe as well.

Mantu
from Afghanistan

This finished, plattered dish is a sumptuous arrangement of layers, with the scattering of fresh mint leaves and a little of the minced lamb to garnish completing it perfectly.

Cooked throughout Afghanistan, it is modified according to region, with this dish coming from Kabul.

1 kilo minced lamb
1 large onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic grated or minced
2 red chillies, chopped finely
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon coriander
Salt to taste
1 pkt wonton wrappers (available from Asian supermarkets)

500 gr natural yoghurt
4 cloves garlic, minced or grated
1 bunch of fresh mint
3 tspns oil

Method:
Heat the oil in a frypan and add the onions, cooking until they begin to turn colour.
Add the garlic and meat and mix thoroughly to break it into a finely minced texture, and cook until the meat is browned.

Add the seasonings, coriander and chilli, and continue to cook for 20 minutes adding only enough water, if any, to prevent the meat from sticking.

Allow the meat mixture to cool a little, and then take a wonton wrapper, and place a teaspoon of meat mixture into the centre.

Fold the wonton wrapper to create a dumpling by taking the two opposite corners and sealing them with wet fingers. Then repeat with the other corners, creating a neat parcel.

Place the mantu into a steamer, and cook for 30 minutes or so.

Create a sauce by mixing the yoghurt and garlic together.

Assemble the dish by covering the base of a large platter with the yoghurt sauce, and cover with the meat parcels, piling them on top of each other to create a mound.

A little sauce can be spooned over the lot, then some minced lamb, topped with the mint leaves.