Manti the Easy Way ~ Sis Borek  

I do not want to deprive my readers any longer of these wonderful recipes that I have.  Believe me when I say, I have several book loads, just finding the time in these last few weeks has been hard.  I am also in the process of changing the way web site look and this might take some time, but during this time I hope to continue my posting as long as I have this every useful site.

Manti, is the Turkish method of meat stuffed dumplings.  Every region in Turkey has their own method of making and serving this dish.  Like in Kayseri a well known region in Turkey, they tend to make the manti into a soup dish, as in Yalova, it is served as a main course with yogurt garlic sauce topped with pan fried olive oil and paprika.  Manti takes a lot of prep work and hand work.  I do not mind making the manti from scratch, but that is only when I have the time and when I am with my mother and aunts.  It is more fun when it is made with a crowd and the process goes by much quicker.

About a week ago my brother mentioned that their were some lovely ladies that stopped by the store, asking for manti and at the store we do sell the freshly frozen manti.  These ladies happen to locate the store via search of the Internet and they come upon my blog.  ”Thank you ladies!”  Now, I know for sure I have some readers.  I am told they had an awesome party!

Since I do not have the time to make the dough from scratch, I decided to make a ”yalanci manti” meaning “fake manti” also known in Arabic as Sis Borek. 

Ingredients:

• 1 box of large shelled pasta – small shell is even better
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 1.5 lb ground chopped meat (I used ground sirloin)
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• salt

Topping

• 1.5 cups of yogurt
• 2 – 3 garlic cloves (depending on how much garlic you like)
• 3 extra tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 teaspoon of paprika
• 2 teaspoon of mint

Preparation:

Cook the pasta as you wish.  In a separate frying pan, add the olive oil, diced onions and cook until the onions become translucent.  Add  in the chopped meat and cook the chopped meat all the way through, add salt & black pepper for seasoning. 

In a separate bowl, add in the yogurt and finely chopped garlic cloves and mix well and set a side.

Drain the pasta and put into a serving dish, add the cooked chopped and mix the both together. In a small frying pan, heat up the extra tablespoons of olive oil with the paprika. 

Serve in individual bowls, top it with the garlic yogurt and drizzle a couple tablespoons of the hot olive oil with the paprika and top it off with a pinch of mint.

Serve warm & Enjoy!