The very first time I tasted this dish was in Abu Dhabi at the home of the then Turkish Ambassador to the U.A.E, and not only did I fall head over heels in love, but was also awestruck, for it was no less than a highly accomplished concerto of taste and texture on the palate.
I never did ever dare to reproduce it, convinced that I was vastly incapable of making such a perfect dumpling dough, until one day, I came across a cheat version on a television programme, and no, I am not embarrassed to admit it; moreover, you are going to be ever so grateful to me for revealing this dirty little culinary secret.
But before I get to that, we are going to begin with making the lamb mince filling, for which I purchase my lamb mince online from Licious meat & fish store (IMAGE 1), but feel free to buy the mince from your preferred butcher.
Ingredients
YIELD: 6 portions of 5 dumplings each (a starter or second course portion)
- 30 ml sunflower oil or preferred brand of cooking oil
- 250g minced lamb
- 2 medium sized shallots (red onions) finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
- ¼ teaspoon ground coriander seeds
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- ⅛ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Method
Gather all your ingredients (STEP 1), then heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan on low heat (STEP 2), add the mince and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until lightly browned (STEPS 3 & 4), then add the onions, mix in and cook until they are translucent (STEPS 5 & 6). Then add the garlic, spices and salt (STEPS 7 TO 10) and stir fry for another 5 to 6 minutes until the liquid has dried out (STEP 11). Let cool and then blend to a puree in your liquidizer (STEP 12). Refrigerate to firm up.
And now onto the cheat’s secret: readymade & packaged gyoza skins (in this case brand ‘Happy Belly’, available online) for the dumplings … may my maker forgive me for this terrible culinary transgression!
All you need is a square pastry cutter, (2¼ inch x 2¼ inch), the gyoza skin, a ½ teaspoon measuring spoon, some water and the cooked & ground mince (IMAGE 2).
Taking one gyoza skin at a time (STEP 1), use the square cutter to shape the gyoza skin (STEPS 2, 3 & 4), then take a half teaspoon of the mince (STEP 5), roll it roughly into a ball (STEP 6), place it in the centre of the gyoza skin (STEP 7), pat the edges with water using your finger (STEPS 8 & 9), then fold in the corners of the skin as shown below (STEPS 10 TO 12), and then pinch each seam to seal firmly (STEPS 13 & 14). Repeat with remaining gyoza skins and refrigerate till use (STEP 15).
And now on to the making of the chili oil & garlic yoghurt.
For the chilli oil (6 portions), all you need is 1 tablespoon red chili flakes (I’ve used brand ‘Keya’) and 3 tablespoons of oil of choice. Place in a pot over low heat until just beginning to sizzle and colour the oil, remove from heat, pass through a sieve and reserve oil for use (STEPS 1 TO 5).
For a 6 cover yield of the garlic yoghurt, you will need:
- 250g of store-bought Nestle ‘Slim’ yoghurt
- 2 tablespoons of finely chopped garlic
- 10g ordinary Amul salted butter
- Salt to taste
Simply sweat out the chopped garlic in the butter over low heat until it has lost the sting; do not colour the garlic. Once cool, simply whisk into the yoghurt, season with salt and set aside (STEPS 1 TO 6).
And now finally onto the cooking and assembly of the final dish.
First take a pot inside which a wire mesh sieve can comfortably fit (I have used one that is 9 inch diameter and 4 inch height), unless of course you have a steamer, fill it up to ¼ the height with boiling water (STEP 1), fit your sieve over the top (STEP 2) and cover with the lid (STEP 3). Place over low heat and let the steam fill the surface, then remove the lid, add your dumplings (in mine I can do 3 portions of 5 dumplings in each pot, so sometimes I have to use three pots for an 8 pax sit down dinner) (STEP 4), cover with the lid and steam for 10 minutes (STEP 5).
In the meanwhile, get your serving plate ready, with all the embellishments i.e. garlic yoghurt, chili oil and edible flowers (available from Nature’s Soul store, 27 Defence Colony market, New Delhi, or online from krishicress.com) (STEP 6).
Please note that I realised too late that the floral plate I chose didn’t quite work, so I have shown the plating steps on the floral plate and the final version on both the floral and white, the latter being a much better choice.
Once steamed (STEP 7), remove the ‘manti’ from the sieve using a slotted spoon (STEP 8), or if you can manage, then your fingers for a better grip, plate them in the centre of your plate in a circle (STEPS 9 & 10), spoon over the garlic yoghurt to partially cover each dumpling, making sure to leave some exposed (STEPS 11 & 12), and drizzle the chili oil on top and let it drip around the sides (STEP 13).
Finally, garnish either the top, or sides with edible flowers & voila, take a much deserved bow! (FINAL IMAGES BELOW)
Above: Final Dish, 2 variations