Large pleated steamed dumplings (10-12 cm) filled with hand-chopped lamb (or beef), onion, cubed pumpkin or potato, and a generous chunk of sheep-tail fat that melts during steaming and bastes the filling from the inside. Steamed in tiered metal manty-pot for 45 min; served with sour cream and a scattering of chopped dill.
Manty (mantı in Turkish, manti in Tatar) is the Turkic-Mongolian large-dumpling family — Kazakh manty are larger and have more identifiable filling than Russian-style pelmeni. The hand-chopped (not ground) meat preserves texture; the sheep-tail fat cube hidden in each dumpling is the Central Asian flavor secret. Wedding feasts feature manty in large numbers. Bishkek-style adds pumpkin generously; Almaty-style uses more potato; some Tatar variations use cottage cheese sweetly.
Bite breaks through pleated dough into a stunning interior: hand-cut lamb cubes with their fat marbling, sweet pumpkin chunks, soft onion all bathed in the meat's released juices. The sheep-tail fat cube has melted but flavored everything around it. The dough is firm but tender; the filling is more textured than ground-meat dumplings. Sour cream cuts the richness; dill brightens. Eat one to know Kazakh cooking; eat ten and you're family.
Hand-chopped meat releases more juices and retains more texture than ground meat — that's why manty have a more 'meaty' character than dumplings made from ground filling. The hidden sheep-tail fat cube melts during steaming, infusing fat throughout the filling without weighing it down. Long steam time (40-45 min) fully cooks the larger dumpling; standard pot stickers would be tough at this duration but manty's open-top design lets steam reach the filling directly.
Variations
Pumpkin manty (kabakli manty) is the autumn-vegetarian variant with extra pumpkin and onion. Spinach-and-cheese manty exists but is non-traditional. Almaty Korean-Kazakh fusion adds gochujang on the side. Pelmeni-Russian-influenced version is smaller (5 cm) and boiled rather than steamed — distinguished by the smaller size.
On the Palate
Where Manty Kazakh sits in the Kazakh flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6
How it's made
10 steps · 70 min active · 50 min waiting
- 125 min
Filling: hand-chop 600 g lamb shoulder (or beef chuck) with a sharp knife into 5 mm cubes — do not grind. Mix with 3 finely diced onions, 200 g pumpkin cubed 5 mm, 150 g sheep-tail fat cubed 5 mm, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1.5 tsp salt, 1 tsp ground black pepper, 1 tsp cumin, ¼ cup water (helps tenderize while steaming).
- 230 min
Rest filling in fridge 30 min.
- 313 min
Dough: combine 400 g flour + 1 egg + 180 ml warm water + 1 tsp salt. Knead 10 min until very smooth. Rest covered 30 min.
- 418 min
Roll dough into a long log. Cut into 16 equal pieces. Roll each into a 14 cm circle 2-3 mm thick (manty wrappers are larger than regular dumpling wrappers).
- 58 min
Place 2-3 tbsp filling in center of each wrapper. Bring the four edges of the dough together in the center to form a four-pointed star (some prefer to twist the center into a knob).
- 67 min
Bring the adjacent points together at the sides — this creates the characteristic manty 'belly button' opening. Each dumpling stands upright with a small opening at the top.
- 75 min
Oil the trays of a manty-pot (or any steamer) generously to prevent sticking. Arrange manty on trays with at least 2 cm space between (they expand).
- 843 min
Steam over vigorously boiling water for 40-45 min — water must stay boiling the entire time.
- 94 min
Lift manty carefully with a spatula onto a wide platter (do not let them stick together). Brush tops with melted butter.
- 108 min
Serve hot with: sour cream (smetana) dolloped on top, fresh chopped dill, optional katyk (yogurt-and-garlic sauce), and Korean-Kazakh carrot salad (morkov-cha) on the side. Eat with hands or fork.
