Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Sini Manti
Tiny open Armenian dumplings baked crisp, then bathed in a tomato broth and topped with garlic yogurt and sumac.
Armenian · advanced · serves 4
prep 60 min · cook 40 min
~516 cal · 27g protein · 57g carbs · 18g fat · 3g fiber · 6g sugars · 9g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Sini manti are the Armenian version of the Central Asian dumpling, and they are unlike any other: little open canoe-shaped parcels of spiced lamb, arranged on a tray and baked until the dough toasts golden and crunchy. The name means manti on a tray, and every Armenian grandmother has her own pattern for arranging them.
Just before serving, a hot tomato-infused broth is ladled over the crisp dumplings so their corners soften while the middles stay chewy, then everything is finished with cool garlic yogurt, and a dusting of Aleppo pepper. It is a dish of contrasts that anchors Yerevan celebration tables.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
8 oz ground lamb or beef
1 small onion, grated
2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground allspice
3 cups beef or chicken
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 cup plain yogurt
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp ground
Instructions
1
Make a firm dough from the flour, egg yolk, water and salt. Knead until smooth, wrap, and rest 30 minutes so it rolls out thin.
2
Mix the meat with grated onion, parsley, paprika and allspice. Roll the dough paper-thin and cut into small squares.
3
Place a little filling in each square and pinch the two ends up into an open boat shape, leaving the middle exposed. Arrange snugly on a buttered tray.
✎ Chef’s note
Keep them small and tightly packed so they toast evenly and hold the broth later.
4
Brush the dumplings with the melted butter and bake at 400F for 25 to 30 minutes until deep golden and crisp.
5
Warm the stock with the tomato paste and pour over the tray. Return to the oven 10 minutes so the corners soften. Whisk the yogurt with garlic and a little salt, spoon over, and finish with sumac.
Armenian family recipe.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Yerevan. Armenian lavash went onto UNESCO's list in 2014, and what was inscribed was the whole practice: dough slapped onto the wall of a clay tonir by groups of women, sheets stacked and dried, then flicked with water to soften before a meal. It works as plate, wrapper and spoon at once.
🗺️
Armenia. Lavash was inscribed by UNESCO in 2014, and the inscription describes the whole practice: groups of women rolling the dough thin, stretching it over an oval cushion and slapping it onto the wall of a tonir, the conical clay oven sunk into the ground. It dries flat and keeps for months, and it is laid across the shoulders of newlyweds as a wish for prosperity.
🌍
Asia. A grain line runs across the continent. Rice dominates the wet south and east, wheat the drier north and west, and the tools follow it: the wok and the steamer where rice is milled, the tandoor and the griddle where wheat is ground. Tea travels the other way, drunk green, black, salted, buttered or with milk depending how far it got from China.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Armenia
Ghapama (Stuffed Pumpkin)A whole pumpkin packed with rice, dried apricots, walnuts, and honey, baked until the shell is a spoonable bowl.
KhorovatsArmenian barbecue: marinated pork or lamb grilled over vine coals with fire-roasted vegetables.
Zhingyalov HatsThin flatbread stuffed with a dozen or more chopped herbs and greens, griddled until blistered.
Browse all Armenia recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Oven, Whisk.
Storing it: Uncooked parcels freeze well and cook from frozen. Cooked ones keep 2 to 3 days refrigerated and steam or pan-warm to serve.
Make it a Armenia meal
Ghapama (Stuffed Pumpkin)Dessert
LahmajounLunch
Similar dishes from around the world
MantiTurkey
Shish BarakSyria
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PelmeniRussia
MantuAfghanistan
BuuzMongolia
Frequently asked questions
What is Sini Manti?
Tiny open Armenian dumplings baked crisp, then bathed in a tomato broth and topped with garlic yogurt and sumac.
Where does Sini Manti come from?
Sini Manti is a Armenian dish from Yerevan, Armenia.
Can Sini Manti be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Sini Manti recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Sini Manti safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Sini Manti take to make?
About 100 minutes total (60 minutes prep, 40 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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