Syrian Kibbeh Recipe is one of the Middle Eastern Recipes that you crave, and the craving won’t be fulfilled until you taste it. There are several types of kibbeh recipes, but this one is very simple and best for a newbie.Kibbeh is usually stuffed with meat and nuts. This food is gaining great popularity in the Levant, Jordan, Iraq and non-Arab countries such as Turkey. It differs from one place to another in terms of shape, size, filling and method of preparation. It is especially famous in Lebanon, Syria, and specifically Aleppo, which is famous for making 17 types of it, as its people call it “Aleppo mother.” There are many types of kibbeh, amounting to 90, the most famous of which are fried, grilled and raw. There is also the mussawi kibbeh, which is characterized by its circular shape and its filling filled with fresh nuts. Its origin goes back to the history of the Assyrian Empire, as some researchers believe that the word “kibbeh” was found in ancient texts describing the feast of the Assyrian king Ashur Nasirpal II in 879
Syrian Kibbeh
Ingredients
(50 kobba)
- ½ kilo fine burghul
- ½ kilo lamb or beef cube (habra) without bones or grind meat
- 1 medium onion، chunks
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon mixed spices (middle eastern mixed spices)
- 1 tablespoon marjoram (mardaqoosh)
Stuffing
- 500 g minced meat
- 300 g lamb fat chopped, (le’ya kharouf)
- 1 small onion, minced
- 1 teaspoon ghee 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- ¾ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon mixed spices (middle eastern bhaar)
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 300 g lamb fat, chopped medium-size pieces
- 1 tablespoon Sumac powder (optional) - wild bush berries from Mediterranean region
- 2 tablespoon pomegranate molases (debs romaan)
- 2 tablespoon pomegranate seeds
- ½ cup toasted walnuts, chopped
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce (Syrian debs flaifleh)
Instructions
Method:
- Wash the burghul we several times until the water almost clear.
- Soak in filtered water with a little salt for apple cider vinegar for 15-20 minutes and then drain.
- Squeeze the burghul with your hands; put into a medium sized bowl.
- Grind the burghul and onions in a meat grinder using the fine grind or a food processor.
- Grind the meat chunks (habra) (if not ground) in a meat grinder using the fine grind or a food processor.
- Into a large bowl, mix the ground burghul, onions and meat in large bowl.
- Add the salt, black pepper, mixed spices (bhar) and the marjoram (mardaoosh) over the burghul, onions and meat dough.
- Using hands mix the prepared dough adding little bit of water if needed until having slight smooth consistency.
The Stuffing
- Stuffing ingredients can be mixed together without cooking. Traditionally kobba is lowly grilled on ‘Manqal’ over coal ‘traditional Middle Eastern grilling tool’. It will be slightly have the taste of ‘kooba neya’ which is the traditional Lebanese raw kobba.
- To cook the stuffing, on medium high heat add the meat into a skillet; stir until colour changes and water dries.
- Add the onions over the meat, ghee, salt, black pepper, mixed spices and paprika. Mix well.
- Reduce to low heat and cover the skillet.
- After 2 minutes add the sumac (if used) and the piece of lamb fat (ley’a).
- Keep the meat to cook 5 more minutes.
- Increase the heat to medium high and stir to prevent the meat sticking on the pan for 1 minute.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
- Add the pomegranate molasses (debs romaan), pomegranate seeds, chopped walnuts, hot sauce (debs flaifleh). Mix all.
Preparing the Kobba.
- Take a piece of the kobba dough into a small ball and flat it on your palms to about 8 cm (3”) pancake disc.
- Prepare another pancake disc having same size.
- Add the stuffing in the centre of one pancake disc.
- Top with the second pancake disc while holding the first pancake disc with your palms opened.
- Dip your fingers of the other hand into water while sealing between the two pancake discs.
- Shape the top pancake disc into a dome.
Baking the Kobba in oven
- Brush a baking sheet with vegetable oil.
- Arrange the stuffed kobba onto the sheet keeping them apart.
- Add one piece of ghee on each piece of kobba or brush with vegetable oil.
- Bake in (450F/232C) about 10 minutes or until edges golden brown.
- Open the broiler and keep the kobba pieces couple of minutes until the top is golden brown.
Grilling the Kobba.
- Prepare the ‘Manqal’ and light the coal carefully.
- Arrange the prepared kobba on the grill.
- Allow them to cook the low heat of the coal until the fat melts and the meat is cooked; the outer shell cooks too.
- Turn the kobba on the other side to cook as well.
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