This viral Turkish pasta recipe features seasoned halal ground beef, creamy garlic yogurt sauce, and buttery paprika drizzle. A cozy and affordable Ramadan dinner everyone will love.
If you have never had manti or Turkish pasta with garlic yogurt, you are missing something genuinely special. This is the dish I make when I want to impress someone without spending hours in the kitchen. It looks elegant. It tastes complex. It is actually not difficult at all.
The combination sounds strange at first. Pasta, garlic yogurt, and browned butter with paprika. But the cool tang of the yogurt against the warm spiced butter over al dente pasta is one of those flavor combinations that makes complete sense the moment it hits your tongue. It is one of my favorite things to make and eat.
What you need
For the pasta:
- 12 oz short pasta, penne, rigatoni, or bow ties work well
- Salt for the pasta water
For the garlic yogurt:
- 2 cups plain whole milk yogurt, at room temperature (important, cold yogurt will split)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced or grated
- 1/2 tsp salt
For the spiced butter:
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1.5 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/4 tsp cumin
For the protein (optional but recommended):
- 1 lb halal ground beef or lamb
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- Salt and pepper to taste
To serve:
- Fresh mint or parsley
- Extra red pepper flakes
How to make it
If adding ground beef or lamb, cook it first. Brown the meat with the diced onion in a pan over medium high heat, breaking it apart as it cooks. Season with cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
Cook your pasta in well salted boiling water according to the package directions until al dente. Drain and set aside, reserving about 1/2 cup of pasta water.
While the pasta cooks, mix together your yogurt, minced garlic, and salt in a bowl. Make sure the yogurt is at room temperature before you start. If it’s cold and you put it on hot pasta it will curdle and become watery. Just take it out of the fridge while you’re prepping everything else and it will be fine.
Make the spiced butter last so it’s fresh and warm when you serve. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once it starts to foam, add the smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, and cumin. It will sizzle and become deeply fragrant immediately. Keep it on low heat for just 30 more seconds, then remove from heat.
To plate, spread a generous layer of garlic yogurt on the bottom of a wide pasta bowl or plate. Pile the pasta on top. Add the ground meat if you’re using it. Drizzle the spiced butter over everything. Finish with fresh mint or parsley and a pinch more red pepper flakes.
Serve immediately. The yogurt warms from the pasta and the butter drizzle brings everything together.
Notes
Room temperature yogurt is not optional. It is the one step that makes or breaks this dish. Take it out of the fridge first thing when you start cooking and everything else will fall into place.
