a note on mantı
I am charmed by the fact that this blog possesses a readership so interested in Central Asian dumplings. (Mmmm, dumplings.) For the record: Uzbek manty are not very much like Turkish mantı at all, aside from belonging to the general dumpling category.
Turkish mantı are tiny chickpea-sized bits of dumpling (like ravioli, but smaller and a little more chewy), stuffed with spicy lamb and served swimming in a garlicky yogurt sauce, with a swirl of oil or butter and a spoonful of Aleppo pepper on top. Mantı are rich, absurdly delicious, and rather artery-clogging (though not unhealthy as İskender kebap or Alinazik kebap, the other two main dishes I miss the most).
Uzbek manty, though still delightful, are quite different: large, pillowy steamed dumplings (almost the size of Chinese ones). They're served with tomato sauce on the side, rather than yogurt--I wonder if that's the usual Uzbek style, or a function of the fact that we were eating kosher Uzbek, hence no mixing of meat and dairy. We sampled both lamb and pumpkin varieties, which were equally tasty--but still left me longing for the Turkish kind, which definitely have more of a kick.
Wikipedia's mantı entry provides helpful photos of both varieties, and references one of my favorite academic books ever, Sami Zubaida and Richard Tapper's Culinary Cultures of the Middle East. If you do not think it is possible for a book with footnotes to make you drool, purchase it immediately.
Lee-Sean: the restaurant is called Arzu, and is in Rego Park. High marks for the various salads, pickled vegetables, lepeshka bread, and kind waitress--and the lamb rib kebabs were a carnivorous joy. (I do not recommend this establishment to vegetarians, unless they are happy to make a meal of bread and salad.)
Turkish mantı are tiny chickpea-sized bits of dumpling (like ravioli, but smaller and a little more chewy), stuffed with spicy lamb and served swimming in a garlicky yogurt sauce, with a swirl of oil or butter and a spoonful of Aleppo pepper on top. Mantı are rich, absurdly delicious, and rather artery-clogging (though not unhealthy as İskender kebap or Alinazik kebap, the other two main dishes I miss the most).
Uzbek manty, though still delightful, are quite different: large, pillowy steamed dumplings (almost the size of Chinese ones). They're served with tomato sauce on the side, rather than yogurt--I wonder if that's the usual Uzbek style, or a function of the fact that we were eating kosher Uzbek, hence no mixing of meat and dairy. We sampled both lamb and pumpkin varieties, which were equally tasty--but still left me longing for the Turkish kind, which definitely have more of a kick.
Wikipedia's mantı entry provides helpful photos of both varieties, and references one of my favorite academic books ever, Sami Zubaida and Richard Tapper's Culinary Cultures of the Middle East. If you do not think it is possible for a book with footnotes to make you drool, purchase it immediately.
Lee-Sean: the restaurant is called Arzu, and is in Rego Park. High marks for the various salads, pickled vegetables, lepeshka bread, and kind waitress--and the lamb rib kebabs were a carnivorous joy. (I do not recommend this establishment to vegetarians, unless they are happy to make a meal of bread and salad.)
posted by kitabet at 7:01 PM
3 Comments:
There was dinner at the Turkish embassy yesterday and while there was no manti, I did stuff myself with the standard (but delicious and drool inducing!) fare of dolmas, koftes and kebaps...I was all stuffed and happy afterwards!
Also the Culinary Cultures book looks very intersting and I have already reserved a copy at the library...so I guess I shall be drooling for a while yet.....
I had Afghan manti at Khyber Pass (on St. Marks in the EV) on Sunday night. They were ravioli-sized meat dumplings with a tomato-based sauce, sour cream, and more ground meat on top.
Sz: Mmmmm. Hep zeytinyagli dolmasini seviyorum.
LS: I keep meaning to go to Khyber Pass. I have had Afghan manti before and liked them very much.
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