Turkish Ravioli (Kayseri Mantısı)

Kayseri is a Turkish city located in central Anatolia. Kayseri Mantısı is one of Kayseri's most famous and typical dishes.

Makes 6 servings

For the dough:

4 cups flour * 1 egg * 100 ml water * salt

For the filling:

1 onion * 250 g ground beef * salt

For the sauce:

2 tomatoes * 3 chili peppers * 1 tbsp olive oil * 2 tsp butter * 2 tsp pepper paste * 50 ml water * red pepper * dry sweet basil

To garnish:

Sumac * Yogurt Sauce with Garlic (Sarımsaklı Yoğurt) - 4 tbsp yogurt * 2 tbsp water * salt * 2 garlic cloves

Prepare the dough. Mix the flour, the egg, the salt and the water and knead well. Cover the dough with a wet cloth and let it rest for 15 minutes. Separate small amounts of dough. Open each amount of dough with a wood pin on a floured surface. Cut little squares with 1 cm x 1 cm. Prepare the filling. Mix the chopped onion with the ground beef and the salt. Place this mixture in the center of each square. Close all the sides very well. After filling all the squares, place them on a large pot and cook them with water and salt. Drain and pour over a cup of cold water. Place the mantı on a deep serving plate. Prepare the sauce. Mince the tomatoes and the peppers and sauté with olive oil. Add the butter, the red pepper, the sweet basil, the water and the pepper paste. Pour the sauce on the mantı. Garnish with the yogurt sauce and sprinkle with sumac.

To make the yogurt sauce, mix very well the yogurt, with the water, the garlic and a little salt. If the yogurt is very thick, add a little more water.

You can learn more about mantı here.