Kibbeh
In Lebanon fried kibbeh is seen as a test of a cook's skill, because all its difficulty lies in one thing: the shell should be as thin as possible, about 3 mm. A paste of bulgur and raw minced meat is shaped over a wet finger, hollowing the ball from within, and thinner is always better — thick kibbeh is heavy and dry. One thing helps: the bulgur soaks in cold water, never boiling, so it does not turn gluey.
Your own work in that: 40 min.
- Soaking the bulgur 30 min
- Filling 20 min
- Shell paste 20 min
- Shaping 40 min
- Frying 25 min
Step by step
0 / 7 doneSoak the bulgur in cold water
Cover the bulgur with cold water for 30 minutes, then squeeze it out. Cold, not boiling: hot water releases starch and the paste turns gluey, and then it cannot be stretched into a thin shell without splitting.
Ingredients: 300 g bulgur · 300 g minced lamb · 1 pcs onion · 1 tsp cumin · 1 tsp allspice · ½ tsp cinnamon · 1½ tsp salt
Half an hour in cold water — never boiling.Fry the filling with pine nuts
Toast the pine nuts in the clarified butter (2–3 minutes) and set aside. Soften the onion in the same fat (about 6 minutes), add the meat and fry 10 minutes, until well browned. Add the spices, molasses and nuts. The filling must be dry, not saucy. Let it cool before filling.
Ingredients: 400 g minced lamb · 2 pcs onions · 60 g pine nuts · 40 g clarified butter · 1 tsp allspice · ½ tsp cinnamon · 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses · 1 tsp salt
Meat well browned, filling dry.Grind the bulgur with the meat
Blend the squeezed bulgur with the raw meat, onion, spices and salt into a uniform, pliable paste. It should feel like dough, not like mince — if it crumbles, add a spoonful of iced water and blend again. In a food processor work in batches, about 5 minutes. Chill the finished paste 15 minutes in the fridge: cold, it is less sticky and easier to shape.
Ingredients: 300 g bulgur · 300 g minced lamb · 1 pcs onion · 1 tsp cumin · 1 tsp allspice · ½ tsp cinnamon · 1½ tsp salt
Shape the shell over a wet finger
Roll an egg-sized ball, push a wetted index finger into it and rotate, stretching the wall to 3 mm. A bowl of cold water beside you is not optional — a dry hand tears the paste at every movement.
Ingredients: 300 g bulgur · 300 g minced lamb · 1 pcs onion · 1 tsp cumin · 1 tsp allspice · ½ tsp cinnamon · 1½ tsp salt
Wet finger, rotating — wall down to 3 mm.Fill and seal into a torpedo
Spoon in a tablespoon of filling (about 30 g), pinch the opening shut and taper both ends into a torpedo. Smooth any cracks with a wet finger — every unsealed spot opens in the oil and the filling escapes. Shaping 18 takes about 40 minutes; keep the finished ones in the fridge.
Ingredients: 300 g bulgur · 300 g minced lamb · 1 pcs onion · 1 tsp cumin · 1 tsp allspice · ½ tsp cinnamon · 1½ tsp salt
Fry at 175°C
Fry in batches of 4–5, each batch 6 minutes at 175°C, turning, until deep golden (about 25 minutes in all). Drain on paper towel. Lower and the kibbeh soak up oil; higher and the shell burns before the filling warms through.
Ingredients: 800 ml oil · 300 g natural yogurt · 1 tbsp mint · 1 pcs lemon
Serve with minted yogurt
Mix the yogurt with dried mint and a pinch of salt and serve alongside with lemon wedges. The sour yogurt is essential — kibbeh are rich and heavily spiced, and without acid the second one tastes heavy.
Ingredients: 800 ml oil · 300 g natural yogurt · 1 tbsp mint · 1 pcs lemon
Before you start
Tray kibbeh — the easier version
Kibbeh bil sanieh skips the shaping: half the paste is spread in a tray, the filling laid on, covered with the rest, scored into diamonds, drizzled with melted butter and baked 40 minutes at 190°C. The same flavour for far less work.
Beef instead of lamb
Lean beef works equally well and is milder. Leanness matters more than the animal: fatty meat binds poorly with the bulgur, and the fat rendering in the hot oil bursts the thin wall.
Freeze them raw
Shaped, unfried kibbeh freeze on a tray and then go into a bag. Fry from frozen, adding 3 minutes — the best way to make this laborious job stretch across several dinners.
