Get every new post on this blog delivered to your Inbox. Uzbeks, Turmen, Tadjiks and Kazakhs all enjoy these large, dense and chewy dumplings filled with a simple seasoned meat and onion mixture. Make a well in the center and add the egg and water. Do not overprocess. Alternatively, you can chop the meat finely by hand with a knife or put it through the coarse blade of a meat grinder. You might think that this is some sort of political slogan, but in Turkmenistan, it’s actually somewhat true: there’s a melon on every table. (Central Asian rice pilaf with lamb or beef), | It consists of chunks of mutton, carrots and rice fried in a large cast-iron cauldron similar to a Dutch oven. Repeat with the remaining squares and filling. Roll one portion out into a rough square about 1/8-inch thick. Testosterone poisoning is a real thing. From the Central Asia, manti spread east and became Korean mandu, Japanese gyoza, Chinese jiaozi and Tibetan momos. His follow-ups have included videos of 100 people saying “I love you” and explaining what they’re thankful for in 100 different languages. video of people saying “Happy New Year from New York!” in 100 different languages. A quick sampling of my favorite tidbits: And in case you’re wondering how, exactly, I weaseled my way into a meal at the Notomelettes’ home, here’s the story: through the internet grapevine, I heard about a Baruch graduate student named Dovlet who had produced video of people saying “Happy New Year from New York!” in 100 different languages. Testosterone poisoning is a real thing. Turkmenistan Food Recipes Plov (pilaf) is the staple everyday food and it is also served at celebrations. Want tasty blog posts in your inbox? Sprinkle each square with a little flour and stack aside as you repeat with the remaining dough. Brush the edges of the square with a little water. Consisting of chunks of mutton, carrots... Manti are dumplings filled with ground meat, onions or pumpkin. So if you see this guy, talk to him in whatever language you speak – and good things will probably happen. Plov is the staple, everyday food, which is also served at celebrations. Apparently, the bad-tasting meat comes from un … Manti are a core item in the cuisine of most of the Turkic peoples of Central Asia and were likely first created deep in the interior of the continent. Copyright © 2020 | Whats4eats.com | Brad Harvey | All rights reserved. Place the meat into a food processor and pulse it until it is coarsely chopped. When I arrived at the home of the Notomelette family on a beautiful Saturday afternoon – accompanied by a wonderful filmmaker from NYC Media – our hosts were ready for us: the dining room table was already covered with homemade dough, the precursors to some homemade beef and pumpkin manti: Our gracious Turkmen hosts — Tylla, Serdar, and their son, Dovlet — then demonstrated the entire process of making the manti. Central Asians sometimes boil or fry their manti, but the cooking method of choice is usually steaming. https://www.whats4eats.com/dumplings/manti-dumplings-recipe You might notice the resemblance to a few other Central Asian breads: lepeshka, widely featured in Bukharian Jewish restaurants in NYC, or Armenian choreg – which is shaped similarly, but tastes more like a lightly sweetened coffee cake. Contact | Pilaf. I am not making this up. And of course, a plate of fresh melon was lurking during the entire meal, patiently waiting its turn behind the plov: By the time we munched our way through the melon and snapped a few more photos, we’d been in the Notomelettes’ home for about five hours — which gave us time to learn TONS about Turkmenistan and the nation’s culinary culture. Apparently, the bad-tasting meat comes from un-castrated male lambs. To make each manti, place around 2 tablespoons of filling into the center of a square. It’s actually a major national holiday, sanctioned by the government. To the west, the Turks, Georgians and Armenians also took them up with gusto, each tweaking the recipe and form to local preferences. Including this one: Yeah, I think I’m about to love Ashgabat, too, I’m a little bit obsessed with melons, apparently — even when I’m asleep. After gaining 20 pounds (I’ve eaten food from more than 150 countries, cut me some slack! Shurpa is a meat and vegetable soup. The Notomelettes insisted that the chorek is better when it’s fresh, but it was still awfully tasty, with a distinctively crispy exterior and a nice, soft interior. At every meal. Serve hot or at room temperature with thick yogurt and simple tomato salad. The method described below is common in Uzbekistan, but feel free to fold as you wish. They also prepared plov, another thoroughly lovable Turkmen staple, featuring blissfully chewy steamed rice, cooked with beef, carrots, onions, and a whole bulb of garlic to give the dish some extra flavor: The Notomelettes also explained that no Turkmen meal is complete without a nice loaf of chorek — a round bread made in a clay oven, called a tamder. In a large bowl, mix together the chopped meat and the remaining ingredients for the filling. Cut the dough into two portions. (And no, it’s not a metaphor, either.). Please enter your email: I can’t claim to know much about Turkmenistan, but here’s one thing that makes me love the country immediately: Turkmenistan officially celebrates National Melon Day on the second Sunday of August. Similar to that found … Use a fork to beat the egg and water slowly into the flour, adding more water if needed to bring all the ingredients together in a soft yet firm dough. 156 of 170 countries eaten (photo by Andrew Guidone). Manti and plov are often made with lamb in Turkmenistan, but when the Notomelettes arrived in the U.S., they felt that the lamb tasted worse than back home – but inconsistently so, maybe half of the time. About | Can you spot the non-Turkmen in this picture? According to legend, Turkmens kept their boots shiny by eating roasted lamb with their hands – and then wiping their fat-smeared fingers on their leather boots to give them a nice, supple sheen. Manti and plov are often made with lamb in Turkmenistan, but when the Notomelettes arrived in the U.S., they felt that the lamb tasted worse than back home – but inconsistently so, maybe half of the time. A video version is hopefully on its way to a television near you, but here’s the pictorial version: And yes, the manti were every bit as amazing as they look. Whats4eats is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Interestingly, the same is true of carrots: the American varieties taste more or less the same as the ones back home, but the Notomelettes noticed that cooked American carrots fall apart much faster than their Turkmen counterparts — and they’ve tried dozens of varieties in their plov since arriving in NYC. Have some cider or malt vinegar on hand so diners can drizzle a little over their dumplings if they like before devouring them. Pilaf, also called “ash,” is the jewel in the crown of Turkmenistani cuisine. Privacy. Then pinch together the new corners on the other side. And, well, New York dudes with quixotic international quests need to stick together. But as much as I love melons, I get even more excited about a fantastic conversation with a warm Turkmen family – especially if it involves a home-cooked meal. Anyway, this chorek came straight from the motherland itself, brought back from Tylla’s recent trip home to Turkmenistan. Let rest for 2 or 3 minutes, and then use a sharp knife to cut the dough into 3 or 4-inch squares. Remove the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth and supple, 5 to 6 minutes. Finally, pinch the two new corners on one side together. Cover and set aside for about 30 minutes to relax the dough. Manti are dumplings filled with ground meat, onions or pumpkin. Freshly filled dumpings are lined up in a large, multi-layered steamer pot called a mantovarka and steamed over boiling water or stock until cooked through and tender. Huge thanks to Dovlet Notomelette and his parents, Tylla and Serdar, for graciously inviting us into their home and allowing us to film them until they wanted to toss us out the window. (click on a country above to view blog post). Huge thanks also to the always-wonderful Andrew Guidone for providing much better camera work than I could ever dream of. Then pinch together the seams to seal in the meat filling. Place the manti in a steaming rack or basket, cover and steam over boiling water for around 30 to 40 minutes. Whats4Eats | You really can’t beat fresh, hand-sized beef-and-pumpkin dumplings, straight out of the steamer — especially when they’re topped with a little bit of melted sour cream, and served with a pair of traditional Turkmen salads. Our meal featured a classic shepherd’s salad, and a garlicky beet salad with sour cream: And the Notomelettes were just getting warmed up. In their years in the U.S., the Notomelettes have tried literally dozens of varieties of rice, but none of them have the same chewy, sticky consistency of the rice back home in Turkmenistan. A wide variety of filled pies … Turkmen cuisine, the cuisine of Turkmenistan, is similar to that of the rest of Central Asia. Manti are typically served with a garlicky yogurt sauce or a splash of vinegar and a sprinkling of red chile powder or black pepper. So this is no surprise to any woman who’s ever dated me, but testosterone can apparently be a very, very bad thing. Pull two opposite corners up and pinch them together. ), I briefly went on a low-carb diet – and dreamed of melons several nights in a row. There is no one way to fold manti — each region and even every family have their own favorite style. Well, my language is food — thank you for asking! 5 Basic Batters for Deep Fried Fish and Seafood, Professional Drupal 7 Themes and Templates, Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Bring the remaining two corners up to the center and pinch all together.

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