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Tender, plump morsels if kibbeh peak through the silky tomato sauce cooked with sweet, lightly caramelized onions. It’s all on top of a bed of steamy, fragrant white rice. When your spoon cuts through the torpedos of ground meat and bulgur, it has some resistance, and then glides through the umami-rich filling of more ground meat, onions and toasted pine nuts.
The smell of stewed fresh tomatoes bring me right back to my mother’s kitchen, where every year, in the height of their season, she spends an entire day preparing jars for the upcoming winter months. When I made this dish for the first time in my own home, the sauce glistened like a glimmer across an ocean wave. I took my first bite. I sunk my teeth into the firm and smooth kibbeh. The textured bits of ground meat and pine nuts gently cracked against my tongue as its richness occupied every corner of my palette before sliding down. I was overcome with the familiarity and satisfaction of preparing a childhood favorite.
Kibbeh
Kibbeh is such a delicacy and a labor of love. Ground super lean meat is pounded with bulgur, onions, and seasoning until it forms a paste, which can be shaped either round, in a torpedo shape, or flattened in a pan. It’s stuffed with additional ground meat cooked with onions and toasted pine nuts. Kibbeh can be fried, grilled, roasted, or boiled in sauce.
Across the world, I’ve heard that there are somewhere up to 90+ varieties of kibbeh. In the city of Aleppo alone, there are 56, according to the linguist Khair Ad Deen al Asadi, author of The Encyclopedia of Aleppo. Kibbeh morsels are often kept in the freezer so that dinner can be on the table quickly. Once the kibbeh is finished, the most dishes can be on the table in about 30 minutes.
Kibbeh bil Banadora, or Kibbeh with Tomato Sauce, is traditionally prepared when tomatoes are in season. I’ve made it using canned whole tomatoes, and it’s just as good. It’s served with rice and topped with browned garlic and cilantro.
Ingredients
Habra — Habra is super lean (0% fat) ground beef or lamb that makes the foundation of the kibbeh paste. If you ask a Halal butcher for habra, they will know what you’re looking for. If you’re talking to a Western butcher, ask for the inside round with all of the fat removed. It will then be ground finely, preferably with fresh blades, so it’s not contaminated with other fat and meat.
Bulgur — Bulgur is cracked wheat that is ground at various coarseness levels. It’s full of fiber and a great source of carbohydrates. For kibbeh, you want to use fine bulgur, or #1 if it’s labeled with numbers.
Onions — Onions offer flavor and a water component for the meat and bulgur, which helps form the paste. Onions will also be lightly caramelized, which add a nice sweetness for the filling and the tomato sauce.
Baking Soda — My family adds baking soda to the paste to make the texture more dough-like, and to allow the kibbeh to puff up slightly when cooking. Not many people typically add it, so think of it like a secret ingredient.
Pine Nuts — Toasted, nutty pine nuts are such a treat in kibbeh. The best quality ones (and most expensive) come from Turkey and are long and slender. The ones from China are also delicious, and you can pick them up from your local supermarket.
Tomatoes — I love using fresh, in season, ripe, juicy tomatoes for this sauce. Canned whole ones are also wonderful, and they’ll work great for this dish.
Arabic 7 Spices — In the Middle East, families traditionally make their own seasoning mixes. For meat, it’s usually a combination of all spice, black pepper, paprika, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, ginger, and/or fenugreek. I use the “meat” spice mix to achieve the same flavor profile. You can either buy some pre mixed, or prepare your own using the spices I listed.
Black Pepper — You can use either freshly cracked or already ground, whichever you prefer.
Salt — These measurements are for regular table salt. If you’re using sea salt or kosher salt, you may want to add a bit more. Be sure to taste and adjust.
Method
Kibbeh Paste & Filling
We usually prepare a bunch of kibbeh in one day and store it in the freezer for the month. Kibbeh is a painstaking process, from the grinding of the meat, making the paste, cooking the filling, shaping each morsel, and shaping. You can definitely outsource the paste preparation if you have a reliable halal butcher. I will tell you a simplified way to make the paste yourself.
You will need a food processor and kitchen stand/mixer. Soak the bulgur in a tiny bit of water, just enough to moisten it a bit. Tell the butcher to grind the habra finely. When you bring it home, start by putting it in the food processor in batches with 2 ice cubes, baking soda, salt, and black pepper, until a smooth ball forms. Then, clean out the food processor and add the onions, bulgur, and a bit more salt, and chop until well combined.
In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the habra and bulgur mixtures, in batches, until well combined. Tip into a bowl, and knead by dipping your hands in ice water and adding a bit of additional water until it’s nice and smooth, about 3-4 minutes. You can store the kibbeh paste in the fridge for about a day if you want to break up the cooking process, in the freezer for up to 2 months. Allowing the paste to rest a little bit does allow the bulgur to soak up some of the moisture from the meat and onions, which does help its texture. If you’re pressed for time, you can begin working with it immediately.
Make the filling by cooking the ground beef in a pan over high heat, breaking it up until it’s well browned and in small pieces, and set aside.
Add olive oil to the same pan, and over medium heat, cook the chopped onions until they’re starting to turn golden, about 15 minutes.
Toast the pine nuts either in a small fry pan on the stove or in the oven.
Shaping
In order to shape the kibbeh balls, have your work station ready with a bowl of ice water, the filling, and the kibbeh paste. Dip your hands in ice water, take a ball of kibbeh paste, and begin hollowing out the center by pressing in the middle with your index finger into the palm of your opposite hand, until the paste looks like a thin ball with an open top. Scoop a spoon of filling, and close the kibbeh shell over the top. Dip your hands in more ice water and smooth over the seem until it’s barely visible. Keep adding more ice water if the seem is hard to close. Repeat with the remaining paste and filling.
Preparing for Sauce
Traditionally, the kibbeh morsels are boiled directly in the sauce. My family likes to bake them so they retain their shape and texture, and it also freezes better. Bake them for about 15-20 minutes at 350° F/175° C. Once they cool, they can be stored in the freezer up to 2 months. Or, use them immediately.
Garlic Cilantro Mixture
In a saucepan set over medium heat, add olive oil and about 1 head of minced garlic. Cook, stirring constantly, until it’s golden, being careful not to burn. Remove from the heat and immediately add 1 bunch of chopped cilantro leaves.
Tomato Sauce
To make tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes, score an “X” on the bottom of each tomato and blanch in boiling water for about 2-3 minutes, or until the peel starts to come loose. Immediately submerge in ice water until cool, then peel and chop. You can skip this step if using canned whole plum tomatoes, just squeeze them with your hands in a large bowl.
In a large pot set over high heat, add the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook, covered, until most of the moisture is absorbed, about 45 minutes to an hour.
Meanwhile, cook chopped onions over medium heat in olive oil until they’re a light golden.
Add the onions to the tomato sauce, along with some salt. Simmer for about 5-10 more minutes. Add the kibbeh, and allow to heat through for about another 10 minutes. Serve with rice and top with the garlic cilantro mixture. Enjoy!
*This post was originally published on 4/2/2020 and was updated on 1/11/2022 with photos and description.
I hope you give this recipe a try! If you do, don’t forget to put it in the comments so everyone knows how it worked out. I also love to see your creations! You can tag me on social media at #omayahcooks, @omayah.atassi on Instagram, @omayah on Pinterest, and @omayahatassiphoto on Facebook.
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Kibbeh with Tomato Sauce (Kibbeh bil Banadora)
Morsels of ground meat and bulgur are stuffed with seasoned ground meat, onions and pine nuts before being cooked in a rich tomato sauce with lightly caramelized onions.
Serves: 4
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
1 recipe Stew Kibbeh
1.5 kgs (3 lbs) fresh tomatoes, or 2 28 oz. cans of peeled tomatoes
2 medium onions, chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp salt, plus more to to taste
Perfect Rice to serve
Instructions:
If preparing sauce from fresh tomatoes, score X’s on the bottom of each tomato. If using canned, skip to step 3.
Set a large pot of boiling water over high heat. Prepare a large bowl with ice water. Blanch the tomatoes for about 2 minutes, or until the skin becomes loose. Transfer to the ice bath with a slotted spoon for a few minutes, or until cool enough to handle. Peel the tomatoes and set aside.
Add the olive oil to a medium heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly caramelized and starting to turn golden, about 15-20 mins. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
Add peeled tomatoes, either fresh or canned, back to the medium-sized pot with salt over medium heat. Once warm, mash with a potato masher to make a chunky sauce and simmer for about 25-30 minutes until thickened. If using your own jarred tomatoes, you’ve already done this step, so skip to step 5.
Return the onions back to the pot and heat through. Adjust seasoning and add enough Stew Kibbeh for 4 people and simmer for about 5 minutes.
Serve immediately with rice, or prepare up to 4 hours ahead of time and heat gently on the stove. Leftovers can be stored in an air-tight container for about 4 days.