[Dan Dx]

Mantoo is a sort of big raviolis, served with a sour sauce of spiced yoghurt. It comes from Central Asia (Mongolia) and it's known from Russia (manty) to China (mandu).

For 6:
Ingredients for dough:
2 cups water
4 1/2 cups flour
2 teasp salt
2 tbsp olive oil

For stuffing
2.2 lb lamb (or beef)
2 large onions
Pinch of salt
1 teasp black pepper
1 teasp ground cumin


1. The dough: Mix olive oil, salt and water together. Work up flour into thick dough. Cover with a napkin and let it stand for 10 - 15 minutes. Cut the dough into balls about the size of walnut. Roll each ball to make thin round flat cakes.

2. To make stuffing, cut the lamb (or beef) into small pieces or mince it not too finely. Cut a little bit of fat from lamb into small dices. Shred onions. Mixed thoroughly, add salt, spices and a little water

3. Put a ball of filling (approx 1 tbsp stuffing) on each square piece of dough and shape to make a big dumpling. To do that you’ll need to fold the dough over the filling to make a half moon, pinch the edges and draw the 2 points together to make a purse

4. Lay Mantoo on the ranges of a double boiler in such a way as to have no contact with each other, splash cold water over them and place over the lower section of the boiler and steam for 40 – 45 minutes

5 The sauce: Half a liter (one pint) of sour cream (or Russian "smietana" or whipped yoghurt) mixed with one tsp of ground pepper, one ground clove of garlic, and one tbsp vinegar (or half a lemon juice)

6. Once Mantoo is cooked, serve on a big platter. Garnish with the sauce separately.

With mantoo, drink Mongolian fermented mare's milk! No, I'm kidding, green tea will fit!

[emilyj]

Wow, how interesting Dan. I am intrigued and will definitely try it. The only 'Mongolian' food I have ever tried was at a restaurant here. The food they served was very similar to Chinese but I was never entirely sure of its authenticity.

[gingerpale]

Reading over the ingredients here, this dish is really pretty simple, but onion pepper cumin and chopped meat in a sour-cream-sauced dumpling? Wow--one of those recipes that is 'more than the sum of its parts', I think, worth trying for sure.