Mataz are Circassian dumplings: squares or circles of unleavened dough wrapped around Adyghe cheese, potato or spiced meat, boiled until tender, then tossed with melted butter and fried onion and served with soured cream. In Turkey, dumplings like these go by the name Çerkes mantısı, “Circassian manti”, which is also the Turkish title of this recipe in the app.
Here is the recipe from the Recipes section of the Circassian app, with the fillings, how mataz relates to haliva, and a few kitchen words in Kabardian and Adyghe.
Mataz recipe
Ingredients
Method
- Knead the flour, water, egg and salt into a firm dough; rest 20 minutes.
- Mix your filling (grated cheese, or mash with fried onion, salt and pepper).
- Roll the dough thin and cut into squares or circles.
- Put a little filling on each, fold and pinch the edges tightly shut.
- Boil in salted water until they float and the dough is tender, 5–7 minutes.
- Drain and toss with melted butter and fried onion; serve with soured cream.
Pinch the seams very well. A loose seam will open and lose its filling in the water.
This is the recipe from the Recipes section of the Circassian app, where you can also scale it and save it to your favourites.
Fillings and how to serve mataz
The app’s recipe gives two fillings: grated Adyghe cheese, or mashed potato with a fried onion, salt and pepper. Its description adds spiced meat as a third. Whichever you choose, the finish is the same: melted butter, fried onion and a spoonful of soured cream on top.
The one thing that can go wrong is the seam. As the recipe’s tip says, pinch it very well, because a loose seam will open in the water and lose its filling.
Mataz and haliva: boiled and fried
Mataz has a fried sibling. Fold the same kind of dough around the same Adyghe cheese, fry it instead of boiling it, and you have haliva, the crisp holiday pie. The photo at the top of this page shows both on one plate: the fried haliva behind, the boiled mataz in front.
Çerkes mantısı is a broad name, though. Turkish Wikipedia uses it for a half-moon dumpling, called psıhaluj, “water haliva”, in West Circassian, and lists metaz separately as a small, thick boiled pie filled with cheese.
Kitchen words in Kabardian and Adyghe
From the app’s lessons:
| English | Kabardian | Adyghe |
|---|---|---|
| cheese | кхъуейqkhwey | къуаеqwaye |
| butter | тхъуцынэtkhwutsyne | тхъуtkhu |
| salt | шыгъуshyghu | щыгъуshchyghu |
| delicious | IэфI'ef' | IэшIу дэд'esh'u ded |
| Enjoy your meal! | Фи хьэлэлщ!Fi helelshch! | – |
More Circassian recipes
Start with homemade Adyghe cheese for the filling, fry a batch of haliva, or serve Circassian chicken in walnut sauce alongside. There is more in 10 traditional Circassian dishes.
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Mataz: frequently asked questions
What is mataz?
A Circassian dumpling: unleavened dough wrapped around Adyghe cheese, potato or spiced meat, boiled, then tossed with melted butter and fried onion and served with soured cream.
What is Çerkes mantısı?
The Turkish name for Circassian boiled dumplings. The Circassian app gives this mataz recipe the Turkish title “Mataz (Çerkes Mantısı)”, and Turkish Wikipedia also uses the name for a half-moon dumpling, psıhaluj.
What filling do you use for mataz?
Grated Adyghe cheese, or mashed potato with fried onion, salt and pepper. Spiced meat is used too.
How long do you boil mataz?
In salted water until they float and the dough is tender, about 5 to 7 minutes.
How do you serve mataz?
Tossed with melted butter and fried onion, with soured cream on the side or on top.
What is the difference between mataz and haliva?
Mataz are boiled dumplings; haliva are fried pies. Both are often filled with Adyghe cheese.
Sources
- Circassian app, Recipes section (Circassian Library > Recipes), recipe “Mataz (Circassian Dumplings)”, version 5.2, September 2026. The app’s recipes draw on Amjad Jaimoukha’s book Circassian Cuisine and were cross-checked against Russian and Adyghe food sources.
- Wikimedia Commons, “Circassian Cuisine P1150712”: mataz and haliva on one plate.
- Wikipedia (Turkish), “Çerkes mutfağı”: metaz and the half-moon Çerkes mantısı (psıhaluj).
- Circassian app, Kabardian and Adyghe lessons Bread & Cheese, Meat & Salt, Fruit & Butter, Drinks, Pets & Poultry and Dining Phrases (kitchen words and phrases).
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