Manti

Minuscule parcels of dough are filled with spiced minced meat, boiled and served under garlic yoghurt and a drizzle of paprika-chilli butter. The smaller the dumpling, the prouder the cook.

Manti are a type of dumpling whose precise origins are debated, with claims linking them to Central Asian nomadic traditions and later Ottoman court cuisine. In Turkey, they are most famously associated with the central Anatolian city of Kayseri, where the dumplings are traditionally made exceptionally small - a skilled cook might fit dozens on a single spoon - and are served with garlicky yogurt and a hot paprika-butter sauce.

Regional variations across Anatolia and the broader former Ottoman world are vast: some versions use chicken or lamb, others are boiled or fried, and toppings range from tomato sauce to sumac and dried mint. In Turkish culture, manti are more than a meal; they are a social dish, often prepared collectively by families or groups, and the tiny size of the parcels is a point of pride and a measure of a cook's patience and dexterity.