Shish Barak (Meat Dumplings in Yogurt Sauce)

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When I bite into pillows of shish barak, or dumplings filled with basis meat and onions, and scoop them upwardly with their lusciously shine yogurt sauce studded with cilantro and garlic, it takes me right back to my babyhood dinner table.

It'south a favorite family-friendly Center Eastern meal, specifically in Syria, Palestine, Jordan, and Lebanon. While it looks complicated to make dough, fill each individual dumpling, and brand the sauce, it's actually quite simple. The dumplings also freeze well, so it'south splendid to prep alee so throw together on whatever weeknight.

Shish Barak (Meat Dumplings in Yogurt Sauce)

Ingredients

Flour — Just regular, all purpose flour.

Water — Flour and water is the foundation to any dough. The ratio is pretty forgiving.

Ground beef/lamb — Shish barak is stuffed with ground meat, which is cooked in a bandage fe skillet over high estrus until fully browned. If y'all have some leftover in the freezer from another recipe (similar sambousek or sheikh al mehshi), that will too work.

Arabic 7 spices — Arabic 7 spices is meat seasoning that uses whatever combination of all spice, black pepper, cardamom, coriander, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and/or fenugreek. It varies from village to village or household to household. You tin can get one pre-mixed here, or make your own like I did here. If you don't take a spice grinder, use pre-ground spices.

Onion — We pretty much constantly accept sautéed aureate onion in the fridge or freezer to use in various dishes, including Stewed Spinach with Basis Meat and Rice (Sabanekh ou Ruz) or Ground Lamb, Onions and Pine Basics (Hashweh).

Olive oil — Whatever skilful quality olive oil will work well to cook the onion. In the US, my favorites are Kirkland Signature (yes Costco) and California Olive Ranch

Yogurt — You volition need obviously, full-fatty yogurt to brand the yogurt sauce.

Labneh — Labneh, or tangy strained yogurt, is not a common ingredient in yogurt sauce, but my mom adds information technology for a bit of complexity. You will just need about 4 oz/130 g, and so if y'all have some effectually, that'due south great. If you lot want to make your own, line a colander with well-nigh 2-3 layers of paper towel, add 1 tsp of table salt, and let to bleed on the countertop for about 24 hours. You tin use in sandwiches, to spread on toast, or simply height with olive oil and dried mint and dip pita bread.

Vegetable oil —Vegetable oil is neutral, so it won't compete with the flavors of the yogurt sauce.

Corn starch — Corn starch is the thickener that helps the sauce bind together.

Shish Barak (Meat Dumplings in Yogurt Sauce)

Shish Barak (Meat Dumplings in Yogurt Sauce)

Method

Kickoff, mix the dough by combining flour and water in the basin of a stand up mixer fitted with a dough hook zipper. Mix until just combined, and set aside to residue for about 2 hours. You can also mix past hand if you don't have a stand up mixer.

While the dough rests, brand the filling past setting a bandage fe or large skillet on the stove over high estrus. Melt the footing meat, stirring constantly, until it releases the liquid, dries upward, and is browned all over. Season with salt, Arabic 7 spices, and black pepper if your spice mixture doesn't accept it.

Add together about 1-two tbsp of olive oil to the pan set over medium heat and add the chopped onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until golden. Combine with the meat.

When the dough is ready, roll it out until about 1/8 of an inch thick. With a modest round cookie cutter, about 2 inches, cut circles in the dough. Flatten out the dough a niggling chip between your fingers, scoop about one tsp of filling in the middle, and close the two ends of the circle over the filling. Pinch airtight, and you lot now have a crescent. Bring the two ends of the crescent together and pinch. Repeat with the rest of the dough. If you lot have leftover filling, freeze for another use. Place the dumplings on a parchment-lined blistering sheet.

In a 350° F/180° C oven, bake them until somewhat business firm, about 30 minutes. The shish barak can exist frozen at this indicate or continue with making the sauce if serving the same day.

Meanwhile, gear up the yogurt sauce and cilantro garlic mixture. Preheat vegetable oil in a medium-sized saucepan. Add together 1 head chopped garlic and cook until aureate, stirring constantly. Immediately add one bunch of chopped cilantro and set bated.

For the yogurt mixture, dissolve the corn starch in water. Add the yogurt, dissolved corn starch, water, and vegetable oil to a stainless steel pot set over high oestrus. Stir constantly equally it comes to a boil. Continue stirring and boil for 1-2 minutes to activate the corn starch and thicken the yogurt sauce. Once the dumplings are out of the oven, add them to the yogurt sauce and melt for some other 1-ii minutes.

Flavor to taste with salt and serve in bowls and top with cilantro yogurt mixture.

Shish Barak (Meat Dumplings in Yogurt Sauce)

Helpful Tips

  • Some people are nervous to make yogurt sauce because they're worried nigh it separating. Don't fret!

    • Stir constantly while it comes to a boil. This allows the moisture to evaporate chop-chop.

    • Keep the yogurt sauce uncovered until it's cool. Roofing will trap condensation within, which volition cause information technology dissever.

    • When cooking, make sure that the only items in the pot are yogurt, corn starch, water, and vegetable oil.

  • Shish barak dumplings and the garlic/cilantro mixture freeze actually well. Identify the baked shish barak on a parchment-lined baking sheet in the freezer. Once frozen, you tin put them in a zip top bag and shop them for several months. The garlic/cilantro mixture can be saved in a nix superlative bag or container.

  • Leftover filling can be frozen and used later in Sheikh el Mehshi (Meat-Stuffed Zucchini with Yogurt Sauce) and Sambousek (Meat Pockets).

Shish Barak (Meat Dumplings in Yogurt Sauce)

I promise you requite this recipe a endeavor! If you do, don't forget to put it in the comments so everyone knows how information technology worked out. I too beloved to see your creations! You tin tag me on social media at #omayahcooks, @omayah.atassi on Instagram, @omayahcooks on Pinterest, and @omayahatassiphoto on Facebook.

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Shish Barak (Meat Dumplings in Yogurt Sauce)

Shish Barak (Meat Dumplings in Yogurt Sauce)

Pillowy meat dumplings are served in a warmed yogurt sauce and topped with caramelized garlic and cilantro.

Ingredients

Meat Dumplings

  • 270 g/two c flour
  • 177 mL/three/4 c warm water
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2-3 tsp salt
  • 500 one thousand/1 lb basis beef
  • 1 tsp Arabic 7 spices
  • 1 yellowish onion, chopped finely

Caramelized Garlic and Cilantro

  • ane/4 c olive oil
  • 8 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 bunch cilantro/coriander, leaves and tender stems chopped finely

Yogurt Sauce

  • three tbsp corn starch
  • 1 c water
  • two kg/70 oz plain, full fatty yogurt
  • 113 g/iv oz labneh (strained yogurt)
  • 2 tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil

Instructions

Meat Dumplings

  1. Combine the flour, one tsp salt, and oil in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment.
  2. With the machine running on medium low, gradually add in the h2o. Increase to medium and knead until it just forms a rough ball, about 2-3 minutes.
  3. Tip out onto a work surface and gently form into a tighter ball by smoothing across the surface. Place dorsum in the stand mixer bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rest for about 2 hours.
  4. Meanwhile, in a dry pan over high heat, cook the footing beefiness, stirring constantly, until browned all the way through, most 5-8 minutes. Intermission it up into minor clumps and season with Arabic vii spices and ane-2 tsp of salt.
  5. Wipe out the pan and return back on medium heat with 2 tbsp olive oil. Add together the onion and cook until golden brown, about 10-xv minutes. Combine with the ground beef.
  6. When ready to shape your meat dumplings, coil out the dough until it's about one/eight" thick on a lightly floured surface
  7. Cutting circles with a round, 2" cookie cutter, placing them on a lightly floured blistering sheet. Roll the scraps and cutting again.
  8. Preheat the oven to 350° F/180° C. Accept a circle and flatten it slightly between your fingers. Place most 1 tsp in the middle and pinch the opposite ends of the circle over the filling, closing the dumpling. It should now be shaped like a crescent.
  9. Have the ii ends of the crescent and bring them together to form a round dumpling and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
  10. Slide the baking sheet into the oven and bake until just firm but not cooked all the way through, about 30 minutes.
  11. Set up the dumplings aside while you ready the rest of the recipe, store in the fridge up to 2 days, or place them on a parchment-lined blistering sail in the freezer. Once frozen, transfer to zip tiptop numberless and shop for several months.

Caramelized Garlic and Cilantro

  1. In a medium saucepan, preheat oil over medium high rut.
  2. Add garlic and stir oft until light golden.
  3. Remove from the heat and immediately add the bunch of cilantro to stop the browning process. Stir to combine and set aside.

Yogurt Sauce

  1. In a modest bowl, combine the corn stach and h2o and set aside.
  2. In a big pot, add together the yogurt, labneh, and oil.
  3. Plough the estrus to high and add the corn starch and water mixture.
  4. Stir constantly until information technology comes to a boil. Add in the meat dumplings and cook for 5-10 minutes.
  5. Serve immediately with soup bowls and summit with caramelized garlic and cilantro.
  6. If making ahead of fourth dimension, it's all-time to cook the dumplings in the sauce just before serving and so they don't become mushy.
  7. If you have leftovers, bring the yogurt sauce to room temperature before roofing and storing in the refrigerator.

Chief Course

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