By Ava Stryker-Robbins
Almost every cuisine or country has its own form of dumpling: a dough casing surrounding some sort of filling, which is boiled, steamed, or fried. Manti, the type of dumpling common throughout Turkey, Armenia, and other parts of Central Asia, originated in the 13th century as a food Turkish migrants ate as they returned home from Mongolia. Similar to many other types of dumplings, it is a form of pasta wrapped around meat.
Bodrum’s manti dumplings float in garlic yogurt and fresh herbs, with butter sauce drizzled on top. The tartness of the yogurt, the savory yet sweet taste of the ground beef, and the coolness of the mint make for an excellent combination. According to an interview with Bodrum’s owner, Huseyin Ozer, “this is a dish that I used to have when I was little.” Ozer uses his mother’s recipe to create the Manti served at Bodrum. Manti is “a very time-consuming dish,” he says, that can take 2-3 hours of active work.
Bodrum has been on the Upper West Side since 2007. Ozer classifies the institution as “Turkish healthy comfort food,” and says that “here at Bodrum, I have pretty much all my favorite dishes.” His inspiration for opening it and two other restaurants on the Upper West Side, Osteria Accademia and Leyla, was his love for food. “[I am] a big foodie. I love to eat. I remember as a kid, I used to eat at home, and then if somebody invited me to dinner I would eat again.”
Ozer concludes by saying that Manti is appealing to all age groups and is a unifying dish: “it brings families together.”
Bodrum sells Manti in two sizes, the large is $19.95 and the small is $13.50.
The Dish: Manti
The Restaurant: Bodrum (584 Amsterdam Ave between W. 88th and W. 89th streets)
Read all of our Here’s the Dish columns here.
Just tried this last night. Fabulous! and they have a small and large portion.
Mmmm – sounds yummy! thank you!
One of the best restaurants on the UWS. Their mezze and apps are incredible, and I haven’t even tried the manti yet.
We LOVE!! Bodrum! All the dishes are wonderful But this photo of manti doesn’t look appealing at all. It looks like melted ice cream dessert with passion fruit sauce. When we return to NYC, I will have to try it. Maybe with my eyes closed
I think it looks delicious!
I love this column, Ava. You’ve expanded my palate! I love Bodrum, but I’m not sure I would ever have ordered manti because I’m not familiar with it. Now I’ll try it next time I go. Thank you!
Looks delicious! I love Turkish food, and love dumplings. What is the red and green herbs on top, especially the red?!
It looks like sumac.
My wife Trish and I have been going to Bodrum regularly since it opened in 2007. The food is great and so are the wonderful people who work there. The Manti is excellent. Trish loves the Mucver. too. BTW–the new restaurant Osteria Accademia and three-year old Leyla are also fantastic in terms of cuisine, ambience and service.