Mantu recipe

Steamed onion-heavy beef pouches finished with garlic yogurt and a yellow split pea tomato sauce, not plain yogurt and chickpeas.

1 hour and 40 minutesmedium12 ingredients

Ingredients

• 40 dumpling wrappers
• 500 g ground beef
• 3 onions
• 400 g strained yogurt
• 2 clove garlic
• 2 tsp dried mint
• 100 g yellow split peas
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp salt

How to make Mantu

1. Grate or very finely chop 3 onions and mix them raw with 500 g of ground beef, 1 tsp of ground coriander, 2 tsp of black pepper and 1 tsp of salt. Afghan mantu filling is close to half onion, and that juice is what keeps it moist.
2. Simmer 100 g of yellow split peas in water for 30 minutes until tender, then cook them with 4 tbsp of tomato paste and 2 tbsp of oil for 15 minutes into a loose sauce. This is the qorma.
3. Beat 400 g of strained yogurt with 2 crushed garlic cloves, a pinch of salt and 2 tsp of dried mint. This is chaka, and without it the dish is not mantu.
4. Put a heaped teaspoon of filling on each of about 40 wrappers, pinch the four corners up to the centre and press the seams closed into a little pouch.
5. Oil the steamer trays, arrange the mantu so they do not touch and steam them for 35-40 minutes.
6. Brush them with a little oil as they come out so the wrappers do not dry and crack.
7. Spread most of the chaka across the serving plate, lay the mantu on it and spoon the split pea qorma over the top.
8. Dot with the remaining chaka and finish with the last teaspoon of dried mint, crushed between your fingers.

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