Kibbeh

Kibbeh is considered a traditional food in many Middle Eastern countries. It is the Syrian festive food, and is often served as mezze or side dish.

The word kibbeh stems from an Arabic word meaning kubbah which means “ball”.

In the Syrian cuisine kibbeh consists of bulgur, onions, ground beef, and some Middle Eastern spices like (cinnamon, nutmeg, clove)

The kibbeh croquettes can be deep fried or baked.

Aleppo city (Halab) is famous of making Kibbeh with a fresh minced lamb and burghul (cracked wheat), with essential “seven spices” (baharat) as hot peppers, pomegranates, and pistachio nuts.

 The traditional method of preparing Kibbeh is done by grounding the meat and burghul, then kneading in the spices; a process which can be excruciatingly exhausting. Kibbeh can be eaten raw (kibbeh nayyeh). Another common form is kibbeh qrass, whereby the kibbeh mixture is molded into small, hollowed balls, stuffed with the filling and then fried, and baked.

It is served warm with tahini sauce, plain yogurt, chickpea salad, tabouli and fattoush salad.

Ingredients

2 kg of beef

1 kg of bulgur

1 tbsp. Kibbeh spices

1 tbsp. cumin

1,5cup of water

200 ml olive oil

1 kg of onions

2 tbsp. paprika

2 tbsp. table salt

2 tbsp. dry basil

Preparation

1- Wash the fine bulgur and soak in a small amount of water for 15 minutes to make it wet

2- Grind the onions using a manual or electrical grinding machine.

 3- Mix the bulgur with salt, kibbeh spices, cumin, paprika and basil

 4- Add the beef to the mixture use your hands to mix them very well, then add bulgur and mix again for 5 minutes

 5- Add olive oil to the mixture and then make round balls equal to the size of a peach

 6- Reshape the balls into elongated pieces while inserting your fingers in the middle of the ball

 7- Serve with plenty of vegetables such as mint, cucumber, green sweet pepper, cabbage and tomatoes

 

H.Z