Manakish Mini

Manakish Mini

A soft yeasted bread dough rises for 1 hour. Three toppings prep simultaneously: (1) za'atar-and-olive-oil paste; (2) grated akkawi-mozzarella-feta blend with nigella seeds; (3) spiced lamb mince with tomato and pomegranate molasses. Dough divides into 18 balls; each rolls into an 8 cm disc with a slight raised rim. Toppings spoon on. Baked at 230°C on a hot stone or upside-down tray for 6-8 minutes until the dough is gold and the toppings are bubbling / set.

Snacks 1 hour 40 minutes Serves6
Mantu

Mantu

This is the small-plate version of mantu, folded into a four-pointed flower with the meat visible at the top, plated for a starter or a shared snack rather than the full main-course platter. The filling is ground lamb with grated onion (squeezed dry first, otherwise the parcel goes soggy), garlic, ground coriander, cumin, cinnamon, salt and pepper. The fold is the interesting bit. Take a wonton wrapper, drop a teaspoon of filling in the centre, pull all four corners up over the centre, and pinch them together in pairs to make an X-shape with four small triangles of meat showing at the top, like an opened flower. Steam in a bamboo basket eighteen to twenty minutes over boiling water. Two sauces alongside: a chana-dal-tomato-and-mint sauce stewed thick, and chaka yogurt with garlic. Plate as you would aushak: yogurt base, dumplings on top, lentil-tomato sauce ladled across, dried mint scattered last.

Snacks 1 hour 15 minutes Serves4
Sfeeha Jordani

Sfeeha Jordani

A yeasted bread dough rises for 1 hour. Topping: lamb mince mixed RAW with grated onion (squeezed dry), diced tomato, garlic, baharat, allspice, pomegranate molasses, lemon, parsley and a small spoon of olive oil, no pre-cooking. Toasted pine nuts fold in. Dough divides into 18 balls; each rolls into an 8 cm disc with a slight raised rim. A heaped tablespoon of topping spreads on each; pinched into a slight 4-corner star shape (the Jordanian visual signature, distinguishes from the Lebanese version which is flat-edged). Baked at 220°C 10-12 minutes until the dough is gold and the meat is glossy-set. Garnished with extra parsley and pomegranate seeds.

Snacks 1 hour 52 minutes Serves6