30 DAYS, 30 DISHES – DAY 18: MANTI

Manti are tiny little dumplings, filled with ground meat, similar to ravioli. Sheets of dough are rolled thinly and cut into small squares, then a small amount of filling is added and the sides pinched together, to form little dumpling parcels. The manti is then boiled and served covered in garlic yogurt with a spicy sauce, made from oil or butter and chili flakes.

Making it from scratch is a lot of effort, so when they decide to make it, women in Turkish villages invite each other around and they’ll sit in a group forming a little production line, gossiping whilst making hundreds of manti for their families.

I like it, as long as it’s not too soggy, but I still struggle with the concept of yogurt on dinner foods!

 

30 DAYS, 30 DISHES – DAY 10: ALI NAZIK KEBAB

Ali nazik kebab is one of my favourites! Cubes of marinated lamb on a bed of patlıcan (aubergine) puree mixed with yogurt and served with rice and salad. I love the smoky taste of the creamy aubergine mashed with garlic yogurt, so delicious!

Would you believe, before I lived in Turkey I had never tried aubergine, now I always look for it on the menu!

P.S Sorry I missed a day of posting yesterday – I was just so busy!

Stuffed Mushrooms..

I can’t cook to save my life, but even I can manage these (:
Perfect on the barbeque, yum yum.
1001403_10152137796663776_845196260_n

Ingredients used:
3 mushrooms
3 garlic cloves chopped/crushed
1 tablespoon olive oil
handful of grated cheese

>> Rinse the mushrooms and remove the stems.
1017445_10152137798223776_1487251690_n1174761_10152137797928776_2006156721_n

>>Peel, crush and chop the garlic cloves. Berkay is the expert at cutting things ridiculously small!
1094811_10152137797743776_349266337_n17512_10152137797523776_584732073_n1150867_10152137797413776_1575624272_n

>>Mix in the garlic with the olive oil, add salt if you wish!
Put to one side while the mushrooms are on the BBQ grill.
1185329_10152137797293776_1206918635_n

>>After 5-8 minutes and once the mushrooms are soft, spoon the olive oil/garlic mixture in.
Leave to cook for another 5 minutes.
549017_10152137797108776_1238726273_n 561925_10152137796868776_508728894_n

>>Once they’re almost ready, spoon granted cheese on top and leave til it’s melted.
1003201_10152137797843776_761522276_n 1001403_10152137796663776_845196260_n

It couldn’t be simpler!  (:
Here’s ours with the rest of our BBQ dinner, köfte (meatballs), Turkish rice, grilled tomato, pepper & onion. We also had the customary loaf of bread on the table of course. (:
Afiyet olsun!

556832_10152137798433776_1221342702_n