Shishbarak (Idlib Dumplings in Yogurt-Rice Sauce)

Small half-moon dumplings the size of a Lira coin, filled with raw spiced lamb and onion, then simmered in a yogurt sauce thickened with short-grain rice — the Idlibi signature that sets this version apart from the Lebanese and Damascene styles. Faten's recipe, from Idlib.

Ingredients

• 1 cup, plus more for dusting all-purpose flour
• 1 pinch salt (for dough)
• as needed (cold) water
• 1 kg (filling is shared with sambousek — halve for shishbarak alone) finely ground lamb
• 5 medium yellow onions (very finely chopped)
• 1 pinch salt (for filling)
• 1 pinch black pepper
• 1 kg whole-milk plain yogurt
• 1 liter water
• ½ cup Egyptian short-grain rice
• 1 tsp salt (for sauce)
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter or ghee
• 1 tbsp dried mint

Method

1. Make the dough: stir a pinch of salt into 1 cup of flour, then add cold water a little at a time, kneading until you have a firm, smooth, unleavened dough (like pasta dough). Cover and rest for at least 30 minutes.
2. Make the filling (this same filling is shared with sambousek — if making both, the 1 kg quantity divides between the two; for shishbarak alone, halve everything). Mix the finely ground lamb with the very finely chopped onions, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of black pepper. Knead with your hands until completely combined. The filling goes in raw — this is the Idlibi method.
3. Roll the rested dough very thin (about 2 mm) on a lightly floured surface. Cut small circles with a cutter or a glass rim — each circle should be about the size of a Lira coin (roughly 2.5 cm, about the size of a US quarter).
4. Place a tiny amount of filling (about ¼ tsp) in the centre of each circle. Fold the dough over into a half-moon (قمر) and press the edges firmly to seal. Some cooks then bend the two points toward each other and pinch them to form a ring; Faten leaves hers as simple half-moons. Rest the filled dumplings on a floured tray; do not let them touch.
5. Start the yogurt-rice sauce: in a heavy pot, combine 1 kg yogurt, 1 litre water, and ½ cup Egyptian short-grain rice. Whisk until smooth. Season with salt.
6. Bring the sauce to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring constantly in one direction with a wooden spoon — the yogurt must not 'break'. Once it boils, reduce to a low simmer.
7. Add the dumplings in batches, stirring gently so they do not stick to each other or the bottom. Simmer the whole pot — sauce, rice, and dumplings together — for about 15 minutes, until the rice is tender, the dough is cooked through, and the lamb filling is no longer pink inside.
8. In a small pan, melt the butter or ghee until it foams and smells nutty. Stir in the dried mint and remove from heat.
9. Serve in deep bowls, ladling dumplings and the rice-thickened yogurt broth together. Finish with a drizzle of the mint butter.

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