Arabic Tortellini Cooked In A Yogurt Soup- Shishbarak

Photo: Mateja ^_^

Ingredients

Ingredients for dough:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup dry milk

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons white distilled vinegar

1 cup lukewarm water

Ingredients for filling:

1 cup ground beef

1 medium onion, grated

5 cloves garlic, grated

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon crushed chili peppers

3 tablespoons olive oil

Ingredients for soup:

2 pounds of plain yogurt

1 tablespoon corn starch

1 egg

3 cups water

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1 tablespoon grinded dry mint

Preparation

Direction for dough:

In a big enough bowl, mix together flour, salt, and dry milk. Add vinegar to the water and pour the mixture over dry ingredients. Knead until dough stops sticking to the sides of the bowl. Sometimes, I had to add more flour if the dough is too sticky; other times more water if the dough is too dry. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest on a counter top for 30 minutes.

Directions for filling:

Into a hot skillet, pour olive oil and sauté onions and garlic with salt, black pepper, and chili peppers for about 3 minutes over medium heat.

Add meat and let it brown. Transfer the filling onto a plate and let it cool down completely.

MAKING THE SHISHBARAK:

Dust the baking board lightly with flour. Divide the dough into two equal parts. Roll the first part into a 0.2 inch (5 mm) thick rectangle. With a 2 inch cutter, cut circles out of dough. Fill each circle with 1 tsp of filling and press on the edge to close into a half circle. Now pinch the two ends of the half circle together to form a loop- you made your fist shishbarak. Put aside on a lightly floured plate on cutting board. Re-knead the remaining dough together into a ball and put aside to rest and start working with the second part of the dough. Continue the process until you are done with the filling.

Directions for soup:

In a small bowl lightly beat the egg. Add 5 tbsp of yogurt, corn starch, salt, ground ginger, garlic powder, onion powder, and mix all together into slurry.

Into big enough pot (take into the consideration that you will add the shishbarak to cook in the yogurt soup), pour yogurt, water, corn starch slurry, and mix with a hand whisk to combine. Put the pot over medium heat and stir constantly until it starts to boil. It is very important to stir yogurt soup constantly, otherwise it will come apart, just like when making cheese and you get curd and whey.

When the soup starts boiling and the first bubbles from on the surface, carefully add shishbarak to the soup; stir between additions to prevent the shishbarak sticking on the bottom of the pot.

Cook for 7 minutes after the soup starts to boil again. Remove from heat, add dry mint, and stir to combine.

If you like, you can brown 2 cloves of garlic in 3 tbsp of olive oil with 1 tsp of dry mint, and pour the mixture over the cooked shishbarak dish when on a serving plate. It is a nice garnish and it adds some smoked garlicky-minty flavor to the dish.

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About

So, the other day my youngest son asked me to make some of that meat filled small dough circles with a hole that are cooked in a white soup. I immediately knew what was he talking about, but was a little surprised, because he never liked the dish- SHISHBARAK. But I think that the memories of time the dish was cooked and served, tricked his mind of thinking he just loves shishbarak. At that time he was seven.
It was so long ago I last cooked this dish; back in Jordan, in 2006. I had a nice family gathering with my three sisters-in-law and our children. Aren’t family gatherings the best!!!!!!!! Everybody was working together in the kitchen, children running around, always thirsty or hungry or playing together or in dispute with each other- good times, good times.