Mantije are a culinary specialty that the people of Novi Pazar will serve you first if you visit their town.
They are made after the recipes that are couple of decades old and are baked in special hand-made ovens. Although this dish is one of the trademarks of Novi Pazar, it is also available in other cities in Serbia.
However, be careful about this. In order to work faster and easier and produce more, many manufacturers use production gear, thicker crusts and skip certain important steps during the preparation process of this dish. Only mantije that were made according to traditional recipes, and without skipping any steps in the preparation procedure, can be considered the authentic mantije from Novi Pazar.
This very tasty dish is usually made with beef or cheese. The taste of mantije is very similar to burek or a pie, and people usually drink yogurt or sour milk as a side dish with mantije.
Availability of Novi Pazar’s mantije is still not at a satisfactory level. Despite the good price-quality ratio, young people are more likely to eat fast and junk food. Therefore, one of the very important tasks that lies ahead of us is raising awareness about the importance of preservation of the authentic recipe, the small private shops and traditional Serbian cuisine.
If you have not had the opportunity to try mantije from Novi Pazar yet, be sure to do so. The unique taste, aroma and experience are guaranteed!
