TORONTO — Sylvia Hagopian, the founder at ArmenianDish.com says, “My beloved grandmother, Hélène Yacoubian (née Seykeljian), passed away in 2006, and I miss her every day. She loved visits with her many friends and taking care of her flowers and balcony garden. She had a limitless love for her daughters and four grandchildren. She was spiritual and held a strong Christian faith, and lived by giving generously to others. She lived for us. She was our anchor and our unwavering champion. She survived the Armenian Genocide and passed her love and strength on to us so that we would be strong and give back to the world.”
“During the Armenian Genocide, my grandmother’s family went into hiding and were forced to abandon their ancestral home in Aintab, Turkey. When my great-grandfather, a skilled tailor, didn’t return home, they knew he was killed. My grandmother always told us that they knew deep in their hearts he was killed since he would have stopped at nothing to return to them. They eventually fled and luckily survived the march to Aleppo, Syria. My grandmother was raised in Aleppo and went to a school run by French nuns, where she was given her name Hélène.”
“My brother and sister would agree — manti is a personal family favorite. My grandmother would spend all day baking these delectable morsels of joy and we would devour them. I can still hear her laughing and saying, ‘Chor, chor mi udek!’ (‘Don’t eat them all dry, dry.’) The traditional way to serve these baked dumplings is in a hot yogurt and chicken broth with mint. We couldn’t wait for this soup to be prepared. Manti would never last in our home. This recipe is special – and the spices are exactly what my grandmother flavored her meat with.”
“These dumplings are in the traditional style from my grandmother’s birthplace in Ainteb. I remember traveling to Armenia looking everywhere for manti, only to be disappointed. This is not something you traditionally find on Armenian menus in our motherland today. This dish is for members of the Armenian Diaspora community that may make it slightly different based on the preferences of their country. Some Armenians boil manti and add them to a tomato broth, and some add warm chicken broth and a dollop of yogurt and spices on top.”
“I love my manti baked crispy with tangy yogurt and of course in a hot yogurt and chicken broth with mint. However you like yours, I know you have a sentimental spot in your heart for how your grandparent or mother make them. Manti dough is as simple as it gets — flour, oil, water and salt. The trick for perfect dough is to pour in just enough water and just enough oil. When your ‘atchkee tchapov’ (or eyeballing skills) are broken, I recommend just under a 1/4 cup of oil and just under one cup of water. The dough should not be too wet and not too dry so that you can roll it out nice and thinly. Add just enough water so the dough no longer sticks to your hands while kneading. Once you’ve mixed the ingredients, let the dough rest in a ball under a towel while you mix up the meat.”
“I use lean ground beef for this recipe. I find that extra lean gets too dry before the dough is cooked to the crispness I like. I’ve never used lamb before, but I’ve heard it’s also used instead of beef. To the lean ground beef, my grandmother added a generous tablespoon of seasoned tomato sauce. It is important to chop the onion as finely as possible,” she adds.
