Lebanese Dumplings in Yogurt Sauce
SHISH BARAK
LEBANON | SYRIA
These dumplings are time-consuming to make and I usually prepare a whole batch to put in the freezer so that I only need to make the yogurt sauce on the day I plan to serve shish barak, thus avoiding hours in the kitchen making the dumplings. You can do the same or you can use store-bought Turkish manti, which are the Turkish version of these dumplings, and cook them in your own yogurt sauce. Obviously ready-made is not as good as homemade, so here is a recipe to make them. I have found a similar recipe for this dish in a fifteenth-century Syrian cookery book, Kitab al-Tibakhah (the Book of Cookery), written by a legal scholar from Damascus, Ibn al-Mabrad or Ibn al-Mubarrad: “Shushbarak: You take minced meat and stuff it in dough rolled out like cut tutmaj [unfilled dough cooked in yogurt]. It is cooked in water until done. Then take off the fire and put yogurt, garlic and mint in it.” This recipe hasn’t changed much since. The Turkish version, which is called manti, is made by first boiling or baking the dumplings, then serving them with fresh yogurt spooned all over, whereas the Lebanese cook the dumplings in the yogurt sauce.
SERVES 4 TO 6
FOR THE DOUGH
1½ cups (175 g) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out
Sea salt
FOR THE STUFFING
1 small onion (3½ ounces/100 g), finely chopped
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon finely ground black pepper
Sea salt
5 ounces (150 g) lean ground lamb
TO FINISH
Lebanese/Syrian Vermicelli Rice, for serving
Dried rose petals, for garnish
1. To make the dough: Mix the flour and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Make a well in the center and add ⅓ cup plus 2 tablespoons (110 ml) water to the well. Gradually bring in the flour and mix until you have a rough dough.
2. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead for 3 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball, invert the bowl over the dough, and let rest for 15 minutes. Knead for 3 more minutes, until you have a smooth, malleable, but rather firm dough. Cover with a damp cloth and let rest while you make the filling.
3. To make the filling: Put the onion in a medium bowl. Season with the allspice, cinnamon, pepper, and salt to taste and firmly rub the seasonings into the onion with your fingers until it softens. Add the lamb and mix with your hands until well blended with the onion. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary (see Note).
4. To make the dumplings: Sprinkle a little flour all over a large freezerproof platter and have it on hand to put the meat dumplings on it. Divide the dough into two balls. Flatten one slightly, dip both sides in the flour, shake off the excess flour and roll out into a large round about ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick. Use a 2-inch (5 cm) round pastry cutter to cut the dough into as many disks as you can, starting from the very edge and working your way around the outside then the inside. If you do not have a pastry cutter, use a thin-edged glass. Pick up the dough scraps, knead it into a small ball, and let it rest to make more dumplings once you have finished the first batch.
5. Turn the disks over. Lift one and lay it on the fingers of one hand. Place ¼ teaspoon stuffing in the center, and fold the dough over the filling to form a half-moon. With your free thumb and index finger pinch the edges tightly together into a thin flat edge. Fold the half-moon-shaped dumpling until the tip ends of the half-moon meet, pinch them well together, and stand the curled dumpling on the floured platter—the dumplings for shish barak should look like tortellini but with a flat rim. Continue making the dumplings and arranging them neatly on the platter until you finish both dough and filling.
6. Put the dumplings in the freezer until you need them. This should stiffen them a little and prevent their shape from being spoiled by handling when you drop them into the yogurt sauce. (If you are freezing them for later use, wait until they have frozen before covering them with plastic wrap so you don’t squash them.)
7. Prepare the yogurt sauce as directed, but keep the cilantro-garlic mixture separate. Take the dumplings out of the freezer and carefully drop them into the simmering yogurt. Bring back to a simmer and stir in the cilantro-garlic mixture. Simmer for 5 more minutes, or until the dumplings are done.
8. Sprinkle with a few dried rose petals and serve immediately as is or with Lebanese vermicelli rice.