Ingredients
Dough
- 400 gplain flour
- 200 mlwarm water
- 2 tbspoil
- 1 tspsalt
Filling
- 400 gminced lamb
- 1onion, very finely chopped
- 50 gpine nuts
- 1 tspallspice
- 1 tspcinnamon
- 1 tspblack pepper
- salt
- 2 tbspghee
Yoghurt sauce
- 1.5 kgfull-fat yoghurt
- 1egg white
- 2 tbspcornflour
- 1 tspsalt
- 500 mlstock or water
To finish
- 4 clovesgarlic crushed with salt
- 3 tbspdried mint
- 2 tbspghee
- toasted pine nuts
To serve
- rice with vermicelli
- flatbread
Directions
- Make the dough first. Mix the flour, salt, oil and water into a firm smooth dough. Knead it 10 minutes until elastic, then rest it 30 minutes covered. Rest it properly, or it will fight you when you try to roll it thin. Now the filling, which must be bone dry. Fry the onion in ghee until soft, add the mince and cook until browned and completely dry.
- Cook the filling dry, because wet filling makes the dough soggy and it splits as you fold. Add the allspice, cinnamon and pepper, season well, and stir in the pine nuts. Cool the filling completely before folding. Now roll the dough out as thin as you can, about 1.5 mm. Roll it thin. Thick dumpling dough is stodgy, and the whole pleasure of shish barak is a delicate wrapper.
- Cut small rounds of about 5 cm with a glass or a cutter. Keep them small. Put a scant half teaspoon of filling in each round. Fold it into a half-moon and press the edges firmly together. Set them on a floured tray as you go, not touching.
- Bake the dumplings at 200°C (390°F) for 10 to 15 minutes until lightly golden. Pre-baking is what stops them disintegrating in the yoghurt, and it adds a toasted flavour.
- Use full-fat yoghurt at room temperature and whisk it with the cornflour, egg white and salt until completely smooth. Pour it into a heavy pan over a medium-low heat. Stir constantly in one direction with a wooden spoon until it comes to a full boil.
- Stir without stopping, keep the lid off, and let it boil once. Stop stirring and the base overheats and curdles in seconds; cover it and condensation dripping back splits it.
- Simmer very gently for 15 to 20 minutes until the dumplings are tender. Keep it at the barest simmer and stir gently, because a hard boil breaks the dumplings open. Crush the garlic to a paste with salt and fry it in ghee for under a minute. Take it off the heat and stir in the dried mint.
- Add the mint off the heat. It burns in seconds in hot fat and turns bitter and black. Stir the garlic and mint into the pot and simmer 5 minutes more. Taste the sauce and adjust the salt. Serve it in bowls over rice cooked with toasted vermicelli, with pine nuts scattered over.
Technique
- Ready-made shish barak dumplings are sold frozen in Levantine shops.
- Mantı and joshpara are the Turkish and Central Asian relatives.
- The same yoghurt method underlies shakriyeh and sheikh al-mahshi.
Substitutions
- Frozen shish barak or small mantı from a Levantine shop.
- Beef in place of lamb.
Variations
- With the dumplings fried rather than baked.
- Served dry, without sauce, as a snack.
- Made with beef.
History
Meat dumplings simmered in stabilised yoghurt, a Levantine relative of Turkish mantı.
Frequently asked questions
What is Shish barak?
Shish barak is a main from Jordan: meat dumplings simmered in hot yogurt sauce. Meat dumplings simmered in stabilised yoghurt, a Levantine relative of Turkish mantı.
How long does Shish barak take to make?
Shish barak takes 1 hr 30 min of preparation and 45 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated hard to make.
What can I substitute in Shish barak?
Yes, within limits. Frozen shish barak or small mantı from a Levantine shop. Beef in place of lamb.
What is the most important thing to get right in Shish barak?
Make the dough first. Mix the flour, salt, oil and water into a firm smooth dough. Knead it 10 minutes until elastic, then rest it 30 minutes covered. Rest it properly, or it will fight you when you try to roll it thin. Now the filling, which must be bone dry. Fry the onion in ghee until soft, add the mince and cook until browned and completely dry.
