In the kitchen at Mamajoun, an Armenian pizzeria in Toronto at the intersection of Warden and Ellesmere, chef Mihran Boudakian prepares a lot more than pizza. His restaurant has become a nexus of traditional Armenian food for the Southern Ontario region. He invited us back behind the counter to show us how he makes his famous Manti.
Manti is a traditional Armenian dish composed of meat dumplings, and a sauce. Mihran’s Manti is his grandmother’s recipe, and the filling contains just five ingredients. Beef, onion, salt, pepper, and aleppo pepper. Mihran says “you never really need that many ingredients to have something be delicious.”
He thinks that the reason more people don’t make Manti is that it takes time to form the dumplings. But the way he makes his Manti is nearly meditative. Watch our video to see perhaps the most relaxed chef you’ll ever see. And take part in the zen, with the recipe he’s shared below.
Mihran's Manti Tips
It’s important to keep an eye on the dough, Mihran reminds us, as he peers into his kitchenaid mixer. If it’s too hard, you can always add a little extra water. If it’s too sticky, add some flour, and it should all work out.
“It’s dough,” he says, “there’s no rules.”
He does have one recommendation, however: mix your salt, water and oil before adding the flour. It will make the dough smoother. The same rule applies to his meat mixture, where he mixes the onions and spices before adding the beef.
After letting the dough rest, Mihran tells us the most important part of rolling dough is to roll from the middle. As he goes, he adds flour to the dough and his rolling pin to stop it sticking.
“The thinner you go, the less dough you eat!” he chuckles.
Mirhan thinks people prefer to buy Manti than to make it, because you have to make each dumpling by hand. But it’s a great activity. He likes to get his kids involved at home, and makes games and races to see who can make the most Manti the fastest. Couples trying this at home: beware if one of you is competitive.
With all his Manti formed, Mirhan puts them in the oven, and starts heating a chicken stock. “If you’re going to the trouble of [making the Manti], you can go to the trouble of making your own chicken stock.”
At Mamajoun he serves his Manti with a red sauce, made of chicken stock, tomato paste, salt and pepper to taste. He says you can also add a nub of butter to make the sauce extra rich. Editor’s note: our editorial team couldn’t find the exact metric conversion for a “nub,” so use your best judgement.
Mihran pulls out a shallow bowl to plate the dish. He pours a little less than a ladle-full of sauce on top of his dumplings. He reminds us “it’s not a soup” and puts the sauce away. He tops it with a heaping scoop of full-fat yoghurt, and garnishes with a liberal dusting of sumac.
He says, “enjoy,” and slides the bowl to our producer Ani.
Dietary Notes:
Dairy free (substitution required for garnish), nut free, peanut free
What you'll need:
1 kilogram (2.2 lbs) of ground beef
1 kilogram (2.2 lbs or 8 cups) of all purpose flour
550 mL (2 and ⅕ cups) of lukewarm water
1 L (4 cups) of chicken stock
1 large spanish onion, finely diced
2 tablespoons (30 mL) of tomato paste
2 tablespoons (30 mL) of salt, divided
1 tablespoon (15 mL) of olive oil
½ tablespoon (7.5 mL) of black pepper
½ tablespoon (7.5 mL) of aleppo pepper.
A dollop of full fat yogurt to serve (optional)
Sumac for garnish
Finding the ingredients, and substitutions:
Chef Mihran says you can find aleppo pepper at any middle eastern store, they should have sumac too. If you can’t get aleppo, use an equal portion of paprika.
The steps:
In a mixing bowl, combine water, half of the salt, and the olive oil. Mix to dissolve the salt.
Then add your flour, and mix in a standing mixture (or by hand) until the dough is smoothly combined. If the dough is too dry, add a little more water, if too wet, add flour.
Roll dough into roughly baseball-sized balls, and let sit for 20 minutes, covered.
In a new mixing bowl, combine diced onion, the remaining salt, pepper and aleppo pepper, and mix until the onions are coated.
Add the beef, mix thoroughly and set your mixture aside.
Once the dough has rested, flour your workspace and roll out one ball of dough, rolling always from the center, until the dough is about 1-2 mm (1/16 inch) thick. Slice your dough into squares.
Form small balls of meat, about 1-2 cm (½ inch) diameter, and place one on each square of dough. Fold the corners of each piece of dough towards the center, pinching the top, to form a dumpling, and place each on a cooking tray.
Repeat steps 6 and 7 until you’re out of dough and beef!
Cook your Manti at 350° until golden brown, about 30 minutes, rotating once at 15 minutes.
In a saucepan, mix chicken stock and tomato paste. Mix. Add salt and pepper to taste. For a richer sauce, add a nub of butter.
Once your Manti has cooled, serve into a shallow bowl. Pour over your tomato sauce, add a dollop of full fat yogurt, and garnish with sumac.
コメント