Manti is a famous Asian dish of thin dough with meat filling. In fact, they are an analogue of Russian dumplings. True, there is one significant difference between these two dishes: manti, unlike dumplings, is cooked exclusively for steaming. But for modern housewives today is not a problem. Many of them will be interested to learn how to cook manti, using special equipment or various kitchen appliances. Consider all the possible options.
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Cooking in a pressure cooker - a classic way
Traditionally, manti is cooked in special dishes. It’s called a “mantovarka”.
This is a multi-tiered pan with a lid, specially designed for steaming food. Each section of this fixture is a small pan with a perforated bottom. The exception is the lower part, where, in fact, the water is poured.
How to cook manti in such a bowl? Everything is very simple here:
- First you need to pour water into the lower compartment and bring it to a boil. The liquid must boil violently so that the steam is produced in the right amount.
- The bottoms of the intermediate tiers are treated with vegetable oil.
- Carefully stack the blanks on each of them. The distance between the mantles should be at least 1.5 - 2 centimeters.
- We set the tiers in turn on top of each other.
- Cook in a mantovarka products until cooked. This usually takes about 35 to 40 minutes.
After the time has passed, the fire will need to be turned off, and the apparatus dismantled. Removing each tier, the hot manti can only be put on a dish, and then served with sour cream or any other sauce.
Manty steamed in a slow cooker
Despite the wide selection, today not every house has a pressure cooker. But mistresses should not despair. For example, a multicooker can easily cope with manti cooking, because in this unit there is a special function of steaming.
After molding the blanks, the hostesses have to perform the simplest actions:
- Pour water into the multicooker bowl. If desired, it can immediately be slightly salted.
- We install a steam grate inside the device. It is a plate with holes through which steam will subsequently pass.
- We coat the lattice with oil, and then put the manti on it. The blanks must not touch each other.
- After that we cover the unit with a lid and set the “Steam cooking” mode on the panel.
- Cook manti in a slow cooker for about 40 minutes. Time is better to tick on the timer. For frozen workpieces, it will take approximately 45 - 50 minutes.
After a beep, the lid must be opened and the ready manti transferred to the serving plate one by one.
Casserole Recipe
And what about those who do not have any special kitchen appliances? In this case, you can use a conventional pan.
There are two options here:
- Manti can be simply boiled like dumplings. To do this, in a pan with a wide bottom, you need to boil water. Then add a little salt and spices (pepper, bay leaf) to it. Dip the blanks in boiling liquid and cook over low heat. This begs the question: how many minutes will it take? For freshly prepared manti it will take 12 minutes. If you take frozen workpieces, then cooking takes about a quarter of an hour.
- You can also boil manti in a saucepan. In this case, it’s good to use a regular colander as an impromptu lattice. It will need to be lightly greased with oil and placed on top of a pot of boiling water. Place blanks inside the colander and then cover this structure with a lid. In such an “aggregate” manti will cook for 40 minutes.
Of the two options described, the second is more preferable, since traditionally it is customary to cook manti just for a couple.
Cooking in a double boiler
Given the individual characteristics of the product under discussion, it must be remembered that it is best to steam manti. For this processing method, you can use a special device - a double boiler. In fact, it is very similar to a traditional cooker. True, there are some differences between them.
- First, the pressure cooker contains more tiers. This allows you to simultaneously process more products.
- Secondly, in the center of each tier of the pressure cooker there is a wide opening that provides the pair with better circulation inside the apparatus. It is not in the double boiler, therefore the lower level always warms up more than the upper. Housewives use this feature in order, for example, to cook different products for a couple at the same time.
To make manti in an ordinary double boiler, they simply need to be laid on perforated work surfaces previously coated with butter. After that, pour water into the lower compartment and turn on the unit. To determine how much time is required for work, it is necessary to take into account the thickness of the dough piece and the amount of filling in each product. On average, it takes 40 to 45 minutes to prepare one serving.
How to cook in a pan
Experienced housewives can tell beginners how to cook manti, for example, in a pan. Oddly enough, but this method is also considered quite acceptable. The option is simple, but requires the observance of all conditions.
In this case, you must:
- Pour a little oil into a pan with a thick bottom and warm it thoroughly.
- Place the manti on the bottom and fry them a little.
- Billet fill with water. The liquid should practically cover the product. Water can be slightly salted or a bouillon cube can be added to it.
- Cover the pan and set the medium flame level under it. Now it remains to decide how much to cook manti.Under such conditions, it will take about 20 to 30 minutes.
Products are juicy, very tasty and, in addition, do not fall apart.
How to cook manti in a mantovar so as not to stick?
As a rule, any dough products during the heat treatment stick to the working surface. That is why gratings and perforated bottoms are usually lubricated with butter or any vegetable oil. But such a trick does not always work. How to be in this case?
The first way out of the situation was found by Asian cooks. Today their secret is used by culinary experts all over the world.
So that the products do not stick to the surface of the gratings, you can line them from the inside with slices of various vegetables (carrots, potatoes or zucchini).
This is very convenient, because after finishing work you will get not only juicy manti, but also an excellent vegetable side dish. It will be not only tasty, but also healthy. Instead of vegetables, you can also use salad, cabbage leaves or celery stalks. As a substrate, it is also good to take, for example, parsley. Then, during the heat treatment, the workpieces are additionally saturated with a pleasant characteristic aroma.