Shish Barak (Shish barak)
Overview
Shish barak is a Levantine dish of tiny meat-filled dumplings cooked in a warm yogurt soup. A simple dough of flour and water is rolled thin, cut into small rounds, filled with minced lamb or beef, onion and pine nuts, and folded into little hat shapes. The dumplings are baked or fried until golden. Meanwhile, yogurt is whisked with starch and heated slowly, stirring in one direction so it does not split, then the dumplings are simmered in it. It is finished with garlic and coriander fried in butter, or with mint. It is served hot as a main course with rice.
History
Shish barak is made across Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Jordan, and it is closely linked with Damascus and Aleppo, where women gathered to fold hundreds of dumplings for family meals. The name comes from Persian words, and similar dumplings in yogurt are found from Türkiye to Central Asia. It is a dish for special days, because of the long work of shaping the dumplings by hand.
Main ingredients
Small meat dumplings, yogurt, garlic, coriander, butter, dried mint. The soup is built on cooked yogurt and is usually served hot. Diet: contains meat; not usually gluten-free.
Explore: Yogurt soups · Mint soups
Recipe
Method
- 1
Make a firm dough, roll it thin and cut small circles.
- 2
Fry the meat, onion and pine nuts, fill the circles, fold and pinch them, and bake until golden.
- 3
Whisk the yogurt, water and cornflour and heat slowly, stirring in one direction, until it boils.
- 410 min
Add the dumplings and simmer for 10 minutes.
- 5
Fry the garlic and coriander in the butter and pour over the soup.
- ✓
Serve. About 1h 30m from start to bowl.
Sources
Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.
