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The measures are approximate, as the water-flour ratio will change depending on the type of flour, and how old the flour is.
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1.
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For the filling, mix the ground meat, salt and black pepper.
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Set aside.
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2.
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For the dough, mix flour, salt and egg.
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3.
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Add the water gradually to form a soft dough (not sticky or not stiff) and knead for 5-10 minutes until it all comes together.
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4.
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Divide the dough in 5 equal pieces.
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Rest the dough for 20 minutes.
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5.
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Knead one piece of the dough into a ball and roll it out to the 2-mm thickness (about 0.08 inches).
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Make sure you flour the surface well when you are rolling it out.
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If the dough is sticky, knead it with flour first.
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Also, the dough should not be stiff as it will be hard to roll it out in one piece.
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It should be earlobe consistency.
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(In Turkey, this is a very typical way of describing how the dough should feel when it is done right.
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Just hope that everybodys earlobe consistency is the same!)
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5.
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Cut the rolled out dough in 1/2-inch or 1-inch squares.
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Place approximately 1/4 teaspoon (for 1/2-inch square) or 1/2 teaspoon (for 1-inch square) of ground meat in the middle of each square.
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Dont worry if your squares are not perfect.
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Combine the leftover dough pieces together to make a square or rectangle.
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You can adjust the meat amount depending on how big your square is.
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6.
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Close the two sides of the square together to make a little boat-like dumpling.
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Place them on a greased baking dish with high walls, at least 1-1/2 inches.
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(For me, the dough made enough manti to fill two 14-inch deep dish pizza pans.)
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Start from the outer edge and work your way towards the center.
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7.
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Bake them in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for about 30- 40 minutes, or until the manti starts browning on top.
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You do not want to leave it in the oven too long, then it will be way too crunchy even after the second baking.
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8.
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For the second baking, melt the unsalted butter in the water in a pan and bring it to a boil.
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9.
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Pour the boiling water-butter mixture equally over the baking trays and return them to the oven.
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10.
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Cook for another 20 minutes or until most of the liquid is gone.
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It will probably be done before all the liquid is gone.
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Test it for doneness after 15-20 minutes.
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11.
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To prepare for serving, mix the garlic and yogurt together in a bowl.
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12.
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Melt the butter in a little pan and add paprika and crushed red pepper.
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13.
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Serve manti with garlic-yogurt, drizzled with paprika butter.
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Garnish with dried mint.
