Instructions

1. 1

   Pour the hot water over the bulgur in a large bowl, stir once and leave it to swell, covered, until it has absorbed all the water.

2. 2

   Meanwhile, peel the onion, dice it very finely and sweat it in the oil over a medium heat until soft.

3. 3

   Add the minced meat and fry over a high heat until crumbly, no pink remains and the liquid has evaporated. Stir in 0.5 tsp salt, the pepper, 1 tsp Isot, the cumin and the walnuts and fry briefly.

4. 4

   Pull the pan off the heat, stir in the pomegranate molasses and spread the filling out flat on a plate to cool completely.

5. 5

   Add the flour, red pepper paste, 1 tsp Isot and 1 tsp salt to the bulgur, place a bowl of cold water next to it and knead vigorously with wet hands for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth, supple and evenly reddish. As there is no semolina in it, knead for a long time; if a test ball pressed flat cracks at the edge, knead in 1 tbsp water; if the dough is sticky, knead in 1 tbsp flour.

6. 6

   Divide the dough into 24 walnut-sized pieces of about 28 g, roll them into smooth balls with wet hands and keep them under a damp tea towel.

7. 7

   Shaping: Place a ball in the palm of your hand, bore a deep hollow into it with a wet index finger and turn the ball around your finger while your thumb presses the wall to about 3 mm thick, until you have a small, deep cup. Add 1 heaped tsp of filling, push the edge together over it with wet fingers and seal it firmly. Roll the dumpling between your palms into a smooth ball of about 4 cm, without any points, and shape all the rest in the same way.

8. 8

   For the garlic yogurt, peel the garlic, crush it finely and stir it with the yogurt and salt until smooth. Chill it; it is not heated, because when warm it curdles easily and loses its freshness.

9. 9

   Bring the water for cooking to the boil with the salt and turn the heat down until it is just simmering. Slide in 8 dumplings at a time, loosen them from the bottom after a minute and wait until they float to the top; from then on, cook for another 4 minutes.

10. 10

    Lift the dumplings out with a slotted spoon, drain and keep warm, and cook the rest in the same way. Cut a dumpling open: the filling should be cooked through, with no trace of pink, and at least 70 °C hot; if not, cook for 1 to 2 minutes longer.

11. 11

    Heat the butter or margarine in a small pan until it foams, sprinkle in the Isot and swirl for just a few seconds until the butter or margarine turns deep red; Isot burns quickly.

12. 12

    Arrange the hot dumplings in a shallow dish, spoon the cold garlic yogurt alongside and drizzle the red butter or margarine in thin streams over the dumplings and yogurt.

13. 13

    Tip: In Mardin, Îrok are also deep-fried in oil; boiled, the shell stays softer and the dish lighter. Uncooked, ready-shaped dumplings can be frozen side by side on a baking tray and kept for up to 3 months; add them to the simmering water from frozen and cook for about 3 minutes longer. Cooked dumplings keep for a day covered in the fridge and can be reheated in a little simmering salted water until the filling reaches 70 °C.