Syrian Cuisine
Kibbeh ingredients:
- 2 cup of bulgur
(burghul).
- 1 cup finely
ground beef.
- ½ tsp cumin
powder.
- ½ tsp ground
black pepper.
- ½ tsp paprika.
- ¼ tsp ground
cloves.
- ¼ tsp seven
spices.
- 1 tsp salt.
Stuffing
ingredients:
- 1 cup finely
ground beef.
- ½ cup finely
chopped onion.
- ¼ cup pine
nuts.
- ½ tsp Seven
spices.
- ¼ tsp ground
cinnamon.
- ½ tsp salt.
Directions:
- Place the
bulgur in a large bowl. Rinse thoroughly with water until clean.
- Cover bulgur with
water and allow to soak for 20 minutes. You’ll notice that it absorbed the
water and increased in size.
- Finely grind
the bulgur in a meat grinder. If you don’t have a meat grinder you may use a
food processor and be sure to process a small amount at a time, doing so more
than once until the bulgur is very fine.
- Place blugur
in a large mixing bowl and add ground beef and the spices.
- Mix bulgur
and meat by hand.
- Add cold
water with the palm of your hand just until it’s enough to form a pliable
uniform dough.
- The crust is
now ready. Cover it and leave it aside.
- Place a
heavy-bottom frying pan on stove. Turn heat to high and cover bottom with oil.
- Rinse pine
nuts with water and pat dry with paper towel.
- Place in oil
and turn occasionally until golden in color.
- Remove from
oil and place on paper towel to absorb all the extra oil.
- Sweat chopped
onion in the same oil.
- Add seven
spices, ground cinnamon and salt and mix well.
- Stir in
ground beef with onion. When the meat is cooked and the moisture is absorbed,
add pine nuts and stir well. And stuffing is ready.
- Take a small
amount of the bulgur/meat mixture, the size of a golf ball.
- Dig a deep
hole in the ball using your index finger.
- Placing your
index finger inside the hole and your thumb outside, gently hollow the hole by
pressing both fingers on the sides and turning the ball.
- When the side
and bottom are thin, yet sturdy, fill the hollow with the meat/pine nut
filling.
- Cove the hole
and use your thumb and index finger to make the pointy ends.
- Place a
heavy-bottom deep frying pan on stove and fill one third with oil. Turn heat to
high.
- When oil is
ready, place kibbeh in heat and fry on each side until it turns a deep golden
color.
- Remove from
oil and place on paper towel.
- Place in
platter and serve with tebouli salad and hummus.