Where it comes from
Mantije (mantı) are the Ottoman baked dumplings beloved in Kosovo, especially around Prizren. Unlike the boiled Central-Asian mantı, the Kosovar version is baked dry then soaked in broth and yogurt.
On the plate
Spoon up mantije — tiny golden parcels that have drunk in the hot broth, soft and savory, blanketed in cool garlic yogurt and slicked with red paprika butter. Bite: the dough is tender where the broth soaked it, crisp at the exposed edges; the meat is juicy and onion-sweet; the yogurt is sharp and cooling; the paprika butter adds smoky richness. A laborious, beloved Prizren specialty.
How it works
Baking the dumplings dry first builds flavor and a crisp shell; the later broth-soak rehydrates the dough and carries seasoning inward. Cold yogurt and hot paprika butter set up the hot-cold, sharp-rich contrast that defines the dish.
Variations
Boiled instead of baked. With a tomato sauce instead of broth. Lamb filling. With dried mint in the yogurt. Tiny one-bite size (the most prized). With a sumac dusting.
On the Palate
Ingredients
Serves 6
How it's made
9 steps · Show ↓70 min active · 50 min waiting
How it's made
9 steps · Show ↓- 135 min
Make a dough from 400 g flour, 1 egg, 150 ml water, and 1 tsp salt; knead smooth and rest 30 min.
- 26 min
Mix 400 g minced beef with 1 grated onion, 1 tsp salt, and pepper.
- 312 min
Roll the dough paper-thin and cut into 4 cm squares.
- 418 min
Place a little filling on each square and pinch into small open boats or sealed parcels.
- 55 min
Pack the dumplings snug in a greased baking tray.
- 626 min
Bake at 200°C for 25 min until golden and crisp.
- 76 min
Pour 400 ml hot beef broth over the hot dumplings; let it soak 5 min.
- 83 min
Stir 2 minced garlic cloves into 300 ml yogurt.
- 93 min
Drizzle the dumplings with 2 tbsp paprika-bloomed butter and serve with the garlic yogurt.
