Bowl of small dumplings in an orange tomato broth, topped with white yogurt, red pepper flakes and dried mint, with a spoon. — Photo: William Neuheisel from DC, US · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Turkish · Lunch · Dinner

Turkish Mantı (Lighter Meat Dumplings with Garlic Yogurt)

Name: Turkish Mantı (Lighter Meat Dumplings with Garlic Yogurt)
Prep time: 75 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 90 min
Cuisine: Turkish
Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour; 2 1/2 tbsp flour for dusting; 1 large egg; 6 tbsp water for dough; 1/2 tsp salt for dough; 9 oz lean ground beef (93% lean); 1 small onion, finely grated; 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped; 1/3 tsp salt for filling; 1/2 tsp ground black pepper; 1 2/3 cups plain low-fat yogurt; 2 cloves garlic, crushed; 1 pinch salt for yogurt; 3 litres water for boiling; 1 tbsp unsalted butter; 1 tsp olive oil; 1 tbsp tomato paste; 2 tbsp water for sauce; 1 tsp Turkish red pepper flakes (pul biber); 1 tsp dried mint

Mantı

By BerryFit Kitchen · Nutrition checked with USDA data · Updated Oct 11, 2026 · How we make recipes

Tiny hand-pinched dumplings filled with lean spiced beef, served on a cool bed of garlicky yogurt and finished with a spoonful of sizzling red pepper butter. It is the classic Kayseri-style comfort dish, made with less butter and a low-fat yogurt.

Prep: 75 min
Cook: 15 min
Total: 90 min
Serves: 4

Hard

24%

Per serving474kcal24% of a 2,000 kcal day

28gProtein

62gCarbs

12gFat

3gFiber

Calories come from: Carbs 53% · Fat 23% · Protein 24%

Jump to recipe

Track it in BerryFit and see how it fits your own daily target. Get the app ›

Ingredients

For 4 servings

2 cups250 gall-purpose flour
2 1/2 tbsp20 gflour for dusting
1 large50 gegg
6 tbsp90 gwater for dough
1/2 tspsalt for dough
9 oz250 glean ground beef (93% lean)
1 small70 gonion, finely grated
1/4 cup10 gfresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1/3 tspsalt for filling
1/2 tspground black pepper
1 2/3 cups400 gplain low-fat yogurt
2 cloves6 ggarlic, crushed
1 pinchsalt for yogurt
3 litres3,000 gwater for boiling
1 tbsp14 gunsalted butter
1 tsp5 golive oil
1 tbsp16 gtomato paste
2 tbsp30 gwater for sauce
1 tspTurkish red pepper flakes (pul biber)
1 tspdried mint

Steps

1
Mix the 250 g flour and 3 g salt in a bowl and make a well in the centre.
2
Add the egg and the 90 g water and stir into a shaggy dough.
3
Knead on the counter for 8–10 minutes until smooth and firm.
4
Cover the dough and rest it for 30 minutes.
5
Meanwhile, squeeze the grated onion to remove excess juice.
6
Mix the beef, onion, parsley, 2 g salt and black pepper into a smooth paste and chill until needed.
7
Stir the yogurt with the crushed garlic and a pinch of salt and leave at room temperature.
8
Divide the dough in two and roll each piece on a floured surface into a very thin sheet, about 1 mm thick.
9
Cut the sheets into 3 cm (1 1/4 in) squares.
10
Place a chickpea-sized piece of filling in the centre of each square.
11
Bring the four corners up and pinch all the seams together to seal each dumpling, dusting the tray with flour so they do not stick.
12
Bring the 3 litres water to a boil in a large pot; no salt is needed because the dough and filling are already seasoned.
13
Add the mantı and boil gently for 8–10 minutes, stirring once, until the dough is tender and the filling reaches 71 °C / 160 °F.
14
While they cook, warm the butter and olive oil in a small pan over low heat.
15
Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.
16
Add the 30 g water and the pepper flakes and simmer for 1 minute until glossy, then take off the heat.
17
Drain the mantı well and divide between four plates.
18
Spoon the garlic yogurt over the dumplings.
19
Drizzle with the pepper sauce and sprinkle with dried mint.

Swaps, storage and make-ahead

Swaps

Use lean ground turkey or lamb instead of the beef if you prefer a different flavour; with turkey, cook until the filling reaches 74 °C / 165 °F.
For a vegetarian version, fill the dumplings with mashed cooked green lentils mixed with the onion, parsley and spices.
Use plain Greek yogurt instead of low-fat yogurt for a thicker, creamier topping.
If you can't find pul biber, mix sweet paprika with a small pinch of chilli flakes.

Storage

Refrigerate leftover dumplings and pepper sauce within 2 hours and use within 3 to 4 days, keeping the garlic yogurt separate; reheat the mantı until steaming hot and add the yogurt cold just before serving.

Make ahead

Shape the uncooked dumplings, freeze them in a single layer on a floured tray, then bag them and cook from frozen within about 3 months, adding a few extra minutes and checking the filling reaches 71 °C / 160 °F. The garlic yogurt can be mixed a day ahead and kept in the fridge.

Nutrition values are for the recipe as written.

Track this in BerryFit

Log Turkish Mantı (Lighter Meat Dumplings with Garlic Yogurt) in one tap and see how it fits your remaining calories for today.

Or ask Coach Berry to change it

Make it veganMore proteinFewer calories

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play

Allergens and nutrition

Contains: GlutenEggsMilk

Check the labels of packaged ingredients for allergens and suitability for your diet.

Full nutrition

	Per serving (1,055 g)	Per 100 g
Calories	474 kcal	45 kcal
Protein	27.5 g	2.6 g
Carbohydrates	62.3 g	5.9 g
of which sugars	8.6 g	0.8 g
Fiber	2.7 g	0.3 g
Fat	12 g	1.1 g
of which saturated	5.3 g	0.5 g
Sodium	750 mg	71 mg

Nutrition is calculated from USDA FoodData Central data and may differ from what you cook.