Xinjiang Recipes: Kawa Mantisi or Pumpkin Dumplings

Today's recipe is for Kawa Mantisi, or Pumpkin Dumplings. A common dish throughout Central Asia, it is usually served steamed. In Kazakh and Kyrgyz cuisine, these dumplings often are topped with butter, sour cream, or hot red pepper powder. Alternatively, people there eat them with chopped raw onions flavored with vinegar and pepper, or tomato sauce. In Хіnjіаng, however, people prepare dumplings without any extra seasonings at all.
Ingredients: 1½ cup all-purpose flour; 1 cup cold water; 1 tbsp. salt; ½ cup fried mutton fat (or lean meat with 1 tsp. cooking oil); 1 large orange pumpkin; 2 green or red hot peppers; 1 red onion; cumin, salt, and pepper to taste.
Serving: Four, about 40-50 dumplings
Preparation:
1. Dissolve salt into water. In a large mixing bowl, add the saltwater to flour while kneading the dough constantly for about five minutes.
2. Dice fat or meat and vegetables into small cubes, not more than half an inch wide.
3. Combine meat and vegetables into another large bowl. Add cumin, salt, and pepper to taste.
4. Roll the dough into logs about ¾ inch diameter on a cutting board thinly coated with flour.
5. Cut the logs into ½ inch-long pieces. Flatten each piece into 3-inch-wide circles. The center of the pieces should be a bit thicker than its edges. Alternatively, buy ready-made dumpling wraps at an Oriental foods store.
6. Place 1 tbsp. of filling into wrapper. Fold the dough over in a semicircle. Smear the inside edges of the circle with a little water. Close the dumpling by pleating and pinching the edges, meeting at the top. Twist the top of the dough to seal firmly.
7. Steam the dumplings for 20 minutes, best in a multi-level steamer, and serve hot.