Manty

Ingredients

• 3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup (180ml) cold water, plus more as needed
• 500g lamb shoulder or beef chuck, hand-cut into 5mm dice
• 100g lamb or beef fat, hand-cut into small dice (or substitute 2 tbsp butter)
• 2 large onions, finely diced
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp cold water
• Vegetable oil, for greasing the steamer
• Melted butter, plain yogurt, and vinegar-chili sauce, for serving

Before you cook

• Whisk the egg and salt into the cold water in a small bowl.
• Mound the flour in a large bowl.
• Pour the egg mixture into the flour.
• Mix the flour and liquid into a rough dough.
• Knead the dough for 8-10 minutes until smooth and elastic, adding a splash more water if it feels dry.
• Cover the dough with a damp towel.
• Let the dough rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Hand-cut the lamb and fat into small dice rather than grinding them.
• Finely dice the onions.
• Combine the diced lamb, fat, onion, cumin, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
• Stir the 2 tablespoons of cold water into the filling.
• Mix the filling well so it stays loose and juicy.
• Cover the filling and refrigerate it until ready to assemble.
• Divide the rested dough into 4 pieces.
• Roll each piece into a thin log.
• Roll each log out on a lightly floured surface into a sheet about 2mm thick.
• Cut the sheets into roughly 10cm squares, re-rolling the scraps as needed.
• Brush the steamer trays with oil to keep the dumplings from sticking.

Steps

1. Place a spoonful of filling in the center of one dough square.
2. Bring two opposite corners of the square up and pinch them together over the filling.
3. Bring the remaining two corners up and pinch all four points together at the top.
4. Pinch the open seams along the sides closed to fully seal the dumpling.
5. Repeat shaping with the remaining dough and filling.
6. Set up a multi-tiered steamer over a pot of boiling water.
7. Arrange the dumplings in the oiled steamer trays with space between each one.
8. Cover the steamer and steam the dumplings over high heat for 35-40 minutes.
9. Cut one dumpling open to confirm the meat is fully cooked through.
10. Lift the manty out of the steamer carefully with tongs or a spatula.
11. Brush the hot manty with melted butter.
12. Serve the manty immediately with yogurt and vinegar-chili sauce on the side.