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Kibbeh bi Laban

Name: Kibbeh bi Laban
Total time: 90 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Syria
Ingredients: 150g Bulgur; 400g Ground mutton; 1 Onion; 2 tbsp Pine Nuts; 800g Plain yogurt; 2 tbsp Cornstarch; 1 Egg; 3 cloves Garlic; 2 tsp Dried mint; 1/2 tsp Cumin powder; A pinch Cinnamon powder; 20g Butter; 1 tsp Salt; A pinch Black Pepper

Main Dish

⏱ 90 min

👥 Serves 4

Difficulty ⭐⭐⭐

Small bulgur and lamb kibbeh simmered in warm yogurt sauce — Syrian home cooking.

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📖 The Story Behind This Dish

Kibbeh, made from bulgur (cracked wheat) and ground meat, is a signature Levantine dish, and Syria is said to have dozens of shapes and cooking methods. Kibbeh bi laban is small kibbeh stuffed with meat filling and simmered in yogurt sauce fragrant with garlic and mint. The trick is adding starch and stirring constantly as it warms so the yogurt doesn't split.

🌆 Where it's eaten: In a house in old Damascus, a mother constantly stirs white yogurt sauce in a big pot and gently drops in little kibbeh.

🥕 Ingredients (serves 4)

Bulgur 150g
Ground mutton 400g
Onion 1
Pine Nuts 2 tbsp
Plain yogurt 800g
Cornstarch 2 tbsp
Egg 1
Garlic 3 cloves
Dried mint 2 tsp
Cumin powder 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon powder A pinch
Butter 20g
Salt 1 tsp
Black Pepper A pinch

👩‍🍳 Instructions

Soak the bulgur in water for 15 minutes, squeeze hard, and knead with half the ground lamb, half the grated onion, salt, and cumin into a smooth dough.
Fry the remaining ground lamb with the chopped onion and pine nuts and season with cinnamon, salt, and pepper for the filling.
Take a small piece of dough, hollow it with your finger, fill, close, and shape like a lemon.
Mix the yogurt, egg, and cornstarch in a pot and warm over medium heat, stirring constantly in one direction.
When it boils, add the kibbeh and simmer 15 minutes.
Fry the garlic and dried mint in butter, add, and stir once.

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