KIBBEH BIL SEEKH ( KIBBEH KEBAB )..!! 🍢🍡With Minty Yogurt Dip..!! 🌿

KIBBEH BIL SEEKH ( KIBBEH KEBAB )..!! 🍢🍡With Minty Yogurt Dip..!! 🌿

Kibbeh.. or Kubba are a family of dishes based on spiced ground meat and grain, popular in Middle Eastern cuisine.

In Levantine cuisine , usually bulgur wheat is pounded together with meat into a fine paste and formed into balls, with toasted pine nuts and spices. It may also be layered and cooked on a tray or served raw. In Iraq, versions with rice and potatoes are found.Some recipes add semolina too. 

Kibbeh is really common here in Arab land & an all time favorite with my kids.. but I’ve never made them before. It’s been on my mind to make them and one day decided to give it a try since I had all the required ingredients at home.

Sat down to watch a food program on a local tv channel and decided to start with the kibbeh prep once the show got over. I still don’t know if it was a strange coincidence.. or if the food gods had something else planned for me.. but it so happened that the food program turned out to be about kibbeh..but made as kebabs! 

As I was watching how the kibbeh kebabs were being prepared,I thought why not try these rather than making the usual kibbeh? It looked pretty easy and doable and really yummy! 
I decided to make these lovely & absolutely yumm kibbeh kebabs.. adapting the original recipe as to what I had available.

These kibbeh kebabs are much easier to make & are a healthier option as compared to their deep fried counterpart. The recipe is really simple, and doesn’t take hours of prep work..& the best part for me was that my kids absolutely loved them! They really enjoyed dipping their yummy kebabs in the cool minty yogurt dip..& I couldn’t be happier!

 The husband was quite surprised to see these skewered kibbehs but was amazed at how delicious they were…and now that I’d got such positive reviews from my family, I knew I had to share them with my favorite foodie family too! 
Do try these lovely kibbeh bil seekh or kibbeh kebabs friends…am sure you’ll not be disappointed ! 😍❣

KIBBEH KEBABS

Ingredients:

To make 12 kebabs:
300 gms Finely minced meat 

100 gms Fine Bulgur wheat, rinsed a couple of times and drained

30 gms crushed pistachios 
2 tbsps crushed dried mint

 
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

 
1/2 tsp ground all Spice
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp crushed chili flakes(optional)
1/2 tsp lemon zest / lemon pepper seasoning ( homemade )
1/4 cup water
Butter/Ghee/Oil as required to grill the kebabs
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MINTY YOGURT DIP 
Ingredients :
1 cup thick yogurt
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup packed fresh mint leaves, chopped
1 tbsp crushed dry mint
Salt to taste
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A quick salad for the platter:

1 red onion, sliced
1 firm tomato, de seeded , sliced 
Few parsley leaves, torn roughly

 
1 tbsp Sumac
Salt to taste
A generous drizzle of olive oil 
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Method: 
To make the kebabs:

Place the bulgur wheat in a fine mesh sieve and rinse under running water, rubbing the grains with your fingers to remove any dirt or grime that may be stuck. Rinse well and leave to drain in the sieve. The bulgur wheat does not need to be soaked, just washed well and drained.
Now place the mince meat, the drained bulgur , crushed pistachios, dried mint, and all the other spices and mix together to form a dough.

 
Add water spoon by spoon, and massage the meat, bulgur and spices really well for a good 7-8 minutes, till you have a smooth and pliable meat dough. Make sure not to add too much of water. 

Now take a small portion of the meat mixture and roll it in an oblong shape, not too thick , and stick a wooden skewer into the kebab. Press the meat lightly with your fingers on the skewer till it holds well. Like an oblong meat lollipop ! Or like an upright chicken drumette 🍗
Prepare the rest of the kebabs in a similar manner and keep them ready to grill.
Heat a grill pan or a regular iron tawa/ griddle. Brush it with some butter, ghee or oil , or a combination of butter and oil . 
I mixed some ghee with some olive oil and used this to make my kebabs. 
Once the grill pan is nice & hot, brush the kebabs with the butter/oil and place them on the pan. 

Let them sizzle and cook on medium high heat. Keep turning the skewers to grill and brown the kebabs on all sides. Baste with more butter if needed and grill till done. 

Be careful not to over cook the kebabs as they might turn dry. 
Grill all the kibbeh kebabs and keep aside. 

Serve hot on a platter of onion tomato parsley salad with the minty yogurt dip..and bite into delicious & moist kibbeh kebabs .. utter bliss! 😍❣

To make the Minty Yogurt Dip:
In a bowl of thick yogurt, add the crushed garlic cloves, chopped mint, dry mint and salt. Mix well and garnish with some fresh & dried mint leaves. Chill in the refrigerator till ready to serve.

The Onion-tomato-parsley Salad:

Add the sliced red onions, tomatoes, parsley, sumac & salt in a bowl. Toss till combined. Drizzle some olive oil and toss well. 
Spread this salad on your serving platter, making room in the center to place the minty yogurt dip bowl.
Arrange the hot, grilled Kibbeh Bil Seekh or Kibbeh Kebabs on the platter. 

Take a skewered kebab, dunk it in the yogurt dip and take a big bite..with some of that sumac flavored onions.. YUMM!! 

Do try..& Enjoy..!! ❣❣