Shish Barak

JORDAN

A labor of love that is well worth the effort

SUBMITTED BY

Bara'a

Have you ever tried a dish that felt like a warm hug from your grandma? Well, let me introduce you to Shish Barak, a Jordanian specialty that consists of savory dumplings swimming in a hot, tangy yogurt sauce. That’s as comforting as it gets.

Bara’a, a Jordanian native living in New York, suggested this concoction of dumplings in a hot yogurt sauce. This dish holds cultural significance across Jordan, Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon, where yogurt is featured in many recipes. Bara’a reminisces of family gatherings centered around Shish Barak, invoking memories of her mother’s expertise in preparing this dish. And when she talks about the aroma filling her grandmother’s house, you can practically smell the nostalgia wafting through the air.

To prepare Shish Barak, begin by mixing flour, oil and water in a bowl to form a dough. Cover the bowl with a towel and let it rest. Meanwhile, sauté onions and brown ground beef seasoned with cardamom, then mix in fresh parsley for the filling. Roll out the dough and fill it with the beef mixture, shaping the dumplings into small hats or ears. Place the dumplings on a sheet pan and bake. For the sauce, gently simmer yogurt in a saucepan over low heat. Add the baked dumplings to the sauce and let them simmer. Ladle into a bowl and garnish with coriander-infused oil.

Mmmmmm! The tanginess of the yogurt, the warmth of the spices, and those comforting dumplings. Yum! As I savor each mouthful, I can’t help but feel a sense of gratitude to Bara’a for sharing this recipe with me. It’s that good. It’s a labor of love but don’t be intimidated by the process. Sure, shaping the dumplings might take a bit of practice and keeping that yogurt sauce from curdling requires a watchful eye but it’s so worth it. And if you’re feeling a bit lazy, you can always cheat a little by using store-bought ravioli or tortellini – it’s not quite the same, but it’ll do in a pinch.

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Ingredients
  

For dough

  • cups flour
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 Tbsp vegetable oil

For filling

  • 200 g ground meat beef or lamb with minimal fat
  • 1 onion finely chopped
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • ¼ tsp cardamom powder
  • ½ tsp 7 spice
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley chopped

For yogurt

  • 1 kilogram yogurt
  • 3 Tbsp cornstarch
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • ¾ cup hot water

For garnish mixture

  • 3 Tbsp olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 4 Tbsp fresh cilantro chopped

Instructions
 

To make the dough

  • Add warm water as needed to knead the dough and get a smooth texture. Cover the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes.

To make the filling

  • Sauté onions with some olive oil until translucent. Add meat, spices and salt. Cook on high heat until cooked thoroughly (no water remaining).
  • Add parsley and set aside to cool down.

To make the dumplings

  • Preheat oven to 400℉.
  • Spread the dough into a thin layer (shouldn't be overly thin and shouldn't be thick because it will become very chewy). Cut the dough into small circles (about an espresso cup size).
  • Put a little bit of the stuffing in the middle of the dough circle (do not over stuff), then fold the circle in half, now you have half a circle with two ends, bring the ends together and pinch them one over the other to make them stick. The dumpling should now look like a hat!
  • Bake the dumplings in preheated oven. Just a few minutes, until they look nice light golden.

To finish the dish

  • Mix the cornstarch and olive oil (slurry/paste) then add them to the yogurt (use a whisk).
  • Mix well then put on stove and bring to a boil (keep whisking, never leave it, the yogurt will curdle if left).
  • Add the hot water carefully, salt and dumplings, lower heat and bring to a boil all together for about 10 mins.
  • Meanwhile, in a pan stir fry the garlic, cilantro and coriander until fragrant with the olive oil (for about a minute).
  • Serve the dumplings in yogurt sauce with herb oil on top!
Course: Dinner
Region: Asia
Keyword: Comfort food

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