Istanbul, Friday afternoon: the office at Changa restaurant, Taksim Square.
As I write this, I sit observing Changa restaurant’s two owners Tarik and Savas, my good friends, locked into their computers, concentrated as ever, looking after business, anticipating the arrival of the funky Friday night DJ. Meanwhile Zelciye, their wonderful manager, is organising the waiters, bar staff and chefs - and sorting out the new seed sprouter they’ll soon be using to grow their own cresses. The two restaurant dogs, Changa and Abajur, street strays from Istanbul and Bodrum respectfully, are at my feet hoping I’ll let them have some of the manti that I’m eating for lunch. Manti are little pasta parcels containing minced beef that resemble a Chinese dim sum as much as a ravioli, although they come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They’re boiled and served smothered with a thin yoghurt sauce containing huge amounts of raw garlic plus masses of melted butter, warmed up with an infusion of kirmizi biber (chilli flakes). Dried, rubbed mint and sumac, traditionally sprinkled over the top, gives them an even more delicious aroma and sharpness. Before the manti we ate a tasty Armenian mackerel dolma with salad - dolma meaning stuffed. The mackerel had been boned but kept whole (minus the head) and then filled with a mixture of rice, pine nuts, dried currants, dill, dried mint, black pepper, olive oil and a hint of cinnamon before being baked in the oven.
