Mantu is a typical Afghani food which is said to be closely related to the popular Asian dish mandu. In fact I learnt how to eat mantu in an Afghani restaurant – initially I thought it was an Asian dish but soon learnt that mantu is a very popular Afghani delicacy which is served in almost all restaurants that serve authentic Afghani food. 

If you haven’t tasted mantu, I am sure you will love its taste. It is a much spiced mixture of meat which can be either ground beef or lamb, wrapped up in a dough wrapper. This dough wrapper can be boiled and steamed as per your taste. Though this is a very authentic Afghan delicacy, you will find many variations of this dish across different countries of the world. Here are some interesting variations of eating mantu:

Eat it in Armenian style:

• You can eat mantu with a filling of minced lamb or beef along with minced onions and several spices.
• It can be eaten in a tomato based broth.
• If you are fond of yogurt, eat it with a yogurt topping. Cheese topping is also served in several restaurants.
• To make it tastier, you can sprinkle some dry sumac and pepper.
• The size of dumplings usually varies depending on the place and also the chef.

Try out the Kazakh style:

• You will love the ground lamb filling or beef filling of mantu.
• Horse meat filling can also be eaten.
• If you are eating mantu with horse meat filling you will love the chopped pumpkin or squash toppings.
• Ground lamb filling is eaten with onion or garlic sauce, sauce cream and butter.
• If you choose to have mantu from the street food stalls this dish shall be presented to you sprinkled with hot pepper.

Turkish style:

• Turkish style mantu is made of shredded chicken or quail meat.
• You can eat it with its yogurt and garlic topping.
• You will love the taste of melted butter with ground sumac and added dried mint.
• If you wish you can eat without any fillings also – it is known as empty dumpling.

If you are thinking about having it in true Afghan style:

• Mantu can be eaten with a filling of raw beef or lamb which is mixed with steamed onions and spices.
• You will find it with a topping of a very typical tomato based sauce. This sauce normally includes red kidney beans and ground meat along with onions.

• Remember to eat it hot.
• Chilled rice wine will enhance the taste of mantu always!
Enjoy your spicy mantu in any style you love and remember the experience!

Image courtesy: afghanpalacecuisine; philadining.blogspot; kitchenchick.com