Shish Barak- Meat Dumplings Yogurt Stew

Shish Barak Dough Ingredients (20 servings)

• 5 cups of multipurpose flour
• 1 and 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 and 1/4 cups of water
• 1/4 teaspoon yeast
• 1/2 cup of warm water (to melt the yeast)
• 1/8 teaspoon of sugar (to melt with yeast)

Meat Stuffing Ingredients (20 servings)

• 1 lb of lean ground beef
• 1 teaspoonSyrian 7-spices
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of salt (to taste)
• 2 small red onions finely chopped
• 1/4 cup of pine nuts
• Some Olive Oil

Shish Barak Stew Ingredients (4 servings)

• 1 lb of Labneh,or yogurt
• 6 cups of water
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 heaping teaspoon of dried mint powde
• 1 lemon (juiced)
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt (or to taste)
• Note: If using yogurt instead of Labneh, then use 5 cups of yogurt and 1 cup of water

Meat Stuffing Preparation Method (20 mins)

1. Sautee the onions with a bit of olive oil until they start turning pinkish (10 mins)
2. Add the ground beef, 7-spices, salt, mix well and then sautee until the beef is cooked (10 minutes)
3. Add the pine nuts in the last 5 minutes. The meat stuffing is now ready.

Dough Preparation Method (20 mins)

1. Mix the dough ingredients in a food processor (or knead with hands) and let rest for a few minutes.
2. When ready, place dough on kitchen counter that’s been dusted with flour, and flatten into a large disk the thickness of 2 dimes (1/8th of an inch).
3. Using a bottle lid (or small cookie cutter), cut the dough into disks the size of a quarter (3/4th of an inch in diameter)
4. Place cut dough on a plate that’s been dusted with flour
5. Place 1/3 to 1/2 teaspoon of meat stuffing in the center of each dough piece, fold edges in and close them on the meat, then pull edges around and fold them on one another, then flatten the sides to make it all look like a “hat” or ravioli.
6. Line up all the dumplings on a flour dusted plate
7. If you’re making extra dumplings for future use, lay dumplings on a flour dusted tray in the freezer for a couple of hours, and then pack them in small zip log bags (about 7 – 8 oz each) and store back in freezer for a few months. Each bag (or 7 – 8 oz) of ready dumplings can make 4 servings.

Shish Barak Cooking Method 1, With Labneh: (40 minutes)

1. Pour 6 cups of water and 1 lb of labneh in a pot, mix well until all Labneh is dissolved, then place on stove over medium-low heat and keep on stirring gently until it reaches a boil, at which time you turn the heat to low.
2. Add 2 crushed cloves of garlic
3. Add the dried mint powder
4. Add 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon of salt (to taste)
5. Add juice from 1 freshly squeezed lemon. If you’re using goat yogurt you can skip this step.
6. Add the Shish Barak dumplings, bring the stew to a boil again, and then stir gently on low heat for 15-20 minutes until the shish barak dumplings are cooked.
7. Serve hot as a soup

Cooking Method 2, With Greek Yogurt: (50 minutes)

1. Pour 5 cups of plain yogurt (Greek yogurt) and 1 cup of water in a pot and stir continuously on low heat until it reaches a boil. It is very important that heat is very low and stirring is constant otherwise the yogurt may break apart and can’t be salvaged
2. Follow steps 2-7 above

             Preparation time: 1 hour(s)
             Cooking time: 40 minute(s)
             Number of servings (yield): 4
                                                                                                            Butheina Alnounou

                                                                                                      bossynounou@yahoo.com