Halal Quinoa Kibbeh Labaniyeh

Quinoa Kibbeh Labaniyeh with homemade yoghurt by @miroslovesbites

Ingredients:

• Haloodies Beef Mince

• 2 diced Onions

• 1 tsp of Cardamom

• 5 bay leaves

• 1 Cinnamon stick

• 1 tbsp of Paprika

• ¼ cup of pine nuts

• ½ tsp of Turmeric

• ¼ tsp of Aleppo pepper

• ½ tsp of All spice

• 2 cups of fine bulgur wheat

• ½ cup of coarse semolina

• 2 medium sized grated onions

• 1 tsp of ground coriander

• 1 tbsp of paprika

• 1 tsp of salt

• 1500g yogurt (1000g of thick yogurt and 500g of normal yogurt)

• 3 tbsp of corn-starch diluted in ½ cup of water

• 1 tsp of salt

• Butter

• Mint

Recipe Instructions:

1. For Kibbeh Stuffing: In a medium sized pot, add a drizzle of olive oil and fry onions until translucent. Add minced beef, cutting with a spoon to form very small pieces.

2. Add all the spices and fry until the beef is browned and there is no water left. Take off the heat and stir in pine nuts. Put in a bowl and let cool completely before using to stuff the kibbeh balls.

3. For Kibbeh Shell: Wash the cracked wheat thoroughly and drain. Add semolina, salt, onion and processed meat and knead all the ingredients, until they are all incorporated. Keep a small bowl of ice-cold water next to you to dipping your hands to facilitate the making of the kibbeh. Also, wearing gloves makes the whole process so much easier.

4. Divide the kibbeh dough into small equal size balls (1 ½ inches in size). Take each ball and make a hole in the middle with your index finger while at the same time rotating the ball with the other hand until the hole is large enough to fill 1 tsp of the stuffing. Close the hole by pinching and rotating the ball to seal it.

5. On a baking tray arrange all the kibbeh balls making sure they do not touch. In a large pot, add the yogurt and the corn-starch and bring to a boil while stirring the whole time on medium heat. When it boils it will start to thicken, keep stirring until the yogurt becomes similar to a slightly less firm pancake batter

6. Add the kibbeh balls and cook for 40 minutes on medium-low heat stirring occasionally.

7. In a shallow frying pan add 30g of butter, add coriander and mint then sauté for 2 minutes. Pour on top of the yogurt and kibbeh mixture and serve immediately.