Baked Dumplings - Kayseri Mantısı

Place the flour into a large bowl and mix in 1 tspn of salt. 

Make a well in the centre and add the egg and a little water. Start mixing the dough with one hand, adding a little more water if necessary, until you have a firm dough. Knead for a few minutes and set aside under a damp tea towel to rest while you prepare the filling.

Peel the onions and grate them into a bowl.

Add the mince, half a tspn of salt and pepper and mix. You can also add a few tablespoons of finely chopped parsley if desired.

Cut the dough into quarters and start rolling out one of the pieces using a pasta maker. Using minimal flour roll the piece on 0 setting, folding and rolling a few times until the dough is pliable. Roll out the piece to #6 or to 2 mm thick.

Lay the rolled out dough on a board and cut into 2 cm squares and place about 1/4 tspn of filling onto the pieces of dough. (have a golf ball size of mince in one hand and take a bit off with the index finger of the other hand and smudge it onto the square of dough).

Pick up each filled square and pinch the middles together so that the corners of the square are pointy and the filling is enclosed.

Put each completed square into a  very well floured tray. If the dough is too sticky it will be difficult to handle, but if it is too dry it won't stick together. Flour the tray very well or all that hard work will turn into a useless blob.

Repeat the same process with the remaining pieces of dough. Once completed, grease a large oven tray with butter, gently shake off the excess flour and put all the dumplings (manti) onto the tray in one layer.

Melt the butter and brush most of it over the manti on the tray, put into a preheated 180 C oven.

Bake until golden and crispy all over. Stirring once about half way through so that they are evenly browned.

Heat up 1.5 cups of the stock and pour this over the dumplings (manti).

Put the tray back into the oven and bake until the water has been absorbed.

While the dumplings (manti) are baking make the tomato sauce by grating the tomatoes into a pot, discarding the skins, add 1 cup of stock, tomato paste, the rest of the butter and 1 tspn salt. Mix and simmer for a few minutes.

Prepare the garlic yogurt by crushing the garlic and 1/2 tspn of salt and add this to the yogurt and mix.

Remove the cooked dumplings (manti) from the oven and put onto plates.

Pour some tomato sauce onto each and top with the garlic yogurt. Sprinkle with the mint and sumac and serve.