Authentic Arabic & Levantine Recipes
Shish Barak Recipe: Levantine Spiced Meat Dumplings in Warm Garlic-Coriander Yogurt Sauce
Shish barak is a beloved Levantine comfort dish of delicate hat-shaped dough dumplings stuffed with baharat-spiced minced lamb and pine nuts. Simmered gently in a velvety warm yogurt and Syrian labneh sauce, the dish is finished with a sizzling ghee temper of garlic and fresh coriander.
Also known as:Shish barak (Chich barak)Adhan al-shayeb (Levantine yogurt dumplings)Middle Eastern meat tortellini in yogurt
Servings6
Prep time45 min
Cook time30 min
Ingredients
Add all ingredients to cart- For the dough: 400 g plain wheat flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tbsp vegetable oil and approx. 200 ml warm water
- For the filling: 350 g finely minced lamb or beef, 1 large finely diced onion, 1 tsp seven-spice (baharat), salt, black pepper and 3 tbsp toasted pine nuts
- For the yogurt sauce: 1 kg full-fat plain yogurt, 250 g Syrian-style labneh, 1.5 tbsp cornstarch and 200 ml water or stock
- For the garlic-coriander topping: 2 tbsp ghee, 5 crushed garlic cloves and 1 bunch finely chopped fresh coriander (or 1 tbsp dried mint)
Preparation Steps
- 1Knead the flour, salt, oil and warm water into a smooth, elastic dough and cover to rest; meanwhile sauté the minced meat with the diced onion, seven-spice, salt and pepper in a skillet for 10 minutes until cooked and dry, stir in the pine nuts and let cool.
- 2Roll out the dough thinly, stamp out small rounds, place half a teaspoon of meat filling in the centre of each, fold into a half-moon to seal and wrap the two corners around your finger like tortellini; bake on a tray in a hot oven (200 °C) for 5 minutes just to set the dough without browning.
- 3Whisk the plain yogurt, Syrian labneh, cornstarch, water and salt together in a cold deep pot until completely smooth, then place over medium heat and stir continuously in one direction for 8 minutes until the sauce comes to a gentle boil and thickens.
- 4Drop the oven-set shish barak dumplings into the simmering yogurt sauce and cook over low heat for 5 minutes until tender.
- 5In a small pan, melt the ghee and fry the crushed garlic and chopped fresh coriander for 2 minutes until fragrant, then spoon the sizzling topping over the shish barak and serve hot alongside vermicelli rice.
