Mantu Recipe – Delicious Afghan Beef Ravioli

Mantu is one of the most popular Afghan food and it is common in gatherings and ceremonies. Also, you can find it in many Afghan restaurants. Mantu is an Afghan ravioli filled with beef and covered with yogurt sauce and tomato sauce. Therefore, this food that some people call manto or mantoo is a healthy and low-calorie appetizer. Let’s dive into cooking it.

Mantu ingredients 

For cooking beef Mantu we mainly need minced meat, wonton wrappers, and yogurt. There is another Afghan dumpling called “Ashak” if you are not a fan of meat. You can make Ashak without the meat sauce. Well, it is time for the Afghan Mantu recipe. But first, we need to prepare our ingredients, and here is a list of Mantu’s ingredients.

Ingredient	Quantity
Minced beef	300 gr
Onion	2 medium-sized
Ginger garlic paste	1 teaspoon
Red chili powder	1 teaspoon
Coriander powder	2 teaspoons
Salt	1 ½ tablespoon
Turmeric powder	1 teaspoon
Yogurt	¾ cup
Dried mint	1 tablespoon
Garlic	2 cloves
Tomato paste	1 tablespoon
Cumin	¼ teaspoon
Wonton wrappers	30
Dried yellow split pea	½ cup
Chicken bouillon	1 cube

How to cook Mantu?

The Mantu recipe has four steps. First, we cook the filling and the tomato sauce. Then we will wrap the ravioli and cook them with steam. Finally, we will make the yogurt sauce.

Filling

1. Chop two medium-sized onions into small pieces and heat them on low heat with four tablespoons of oil till making them soft.
2. Add 300 gr minced beef to the onion and stir them well.
3. Add 1 tsp ginger garlic paste, 1 tsp red chili, 1 tsp coriander, 1 tbsp salt, and 1 tsp turmeric to the meat and mix them well.
4. Pour a cup of water. Cover the pan and let it cook for about 30 minutes. Our filling for Mantu is ready!

Red sauce

1. Soak the yellow split pea for 30 minutes.
2. Then bring a saucepan, and add split peat into it with 1 ½ cups of water.
3. Heat the split pea and add 1/8 teaspoon red chili, ½ teaspoon salt, tomato paste, one teaspoon coriander, ¼ teaspoon cumin, and one cube of chicken bouillon.
4. Let it cook and simmer for about 45 minutes on low heat. It should not be very thick or watery.

How to wrap the Afghan ravioli?

1. Put one tablespoon of the filling in the center of a wonton wrapper.
2. Dip your finger into water and moisture the corner of the wrapper.
3. Overlay the opposite corners on each other and press them. Then grab the existing corners and press them. Seal the edges on each other.
4. Repeat this step and wrap all of the dumplings.
5. Bring a pot of water. Heat them till boiling. Put the steamer basket on the pot. The water should not touch the steamer. Place the Afghan ravioli in the steamer. Cover it and let it steam for 30 minutes till Mantu’s ravioli are tender and soft.

Yogurt sauce

1. Pour ¾ cup yogurt into a bowl.
2. Add ¼ cup of water.
3. Add ½ teaspoon salt, one tablespoon dried mint, and two grounded cloves of garlic to the yogurt.
4. Mix them well. Our sauce for Mantoo is ready!

How to serve Afghan Mantu?

Bring a platter, and pour 3-4 tablespoons of yogurt sauce on it. Place Mantu ravioli on the yogurt sauce. Pour tomato sauce on the raviolis. Finally, pour yogurt sauce on the tomato sauce layer. Our delicious Mantu is ready! Enjoy your dish!

Note: You can garnish it with dried mint or coriander leaves.

Now you can prepare Afghan Mantu at home and enjoy the taste of Afghan food wherever in the world you are. If you also have questions about this recipe, please do not hesitate to ask.