Making manti at the Monta Factory

Grant Yegiazaryan is shown with a photo of himself as a young man (at right) with his two friends at the Black Sea in Soviet Russia in 1978, before he immigrated to the U.S. where he, his wife and son run the manti-making Monta Factory in Pasadena.

Sarkes Yegiazaryan explains the process of making manti at the Monta Factory.

Grant Yegiazaryan, his wife Evelina and their son Sarkes make manti from scratch.

The Yegiazaryans prep the dough for their dumplings. The simple dough is made with water, flour, oil and salt and a “secret ingredient,” says matriarch Evelina.

Sarkes Yegiazaryan places the seasoned ground beef filling into the manti dough.

Each square of dough gets a filling that consists of ground beef, red onion, salt and pepper, then the sides of the manti are folded together.

Evelina Yegiazaryan pinches the dough around the meat filling to make the manti.

A tray of manti is ready to be placed in the oven.

Sarkes Yegiazaryan slides a tray of manti into the oven at the Monta Factory in Pasadena.

The final product: a dish of sini-monta, one variation of manti, a Middle Eastern-style dumpling.