Recipe: The national dish of Syria – Kibbe with Tabbouleh

The national day of Syria is March 8 and is it something closer to a national dish of Syria than Tabbouleh or Kibbe? Since Tabbouleh usually is a starter or side dish we added Kibbe (or Kibbeh) so you could enjoy it as a whole meal. Kibbe is a dish made of bulghur (cracked wheat), minced onions and finely ground lean beef, lamb, goat or camel meat.

Enjoy the recipe made by Asma, our country chef from Syria. Alternative spellings of Tabbouleh: Tabouleh, Tabouli, Tabbouli

Recipe: The national dish of Syria - Kibbe with Tabouleh

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Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 10 mins

Total Time 30 mins

Course Main Course, Main Dish

Cuisine Middle Eastern

Servings 4

Ingredients

  

0.5x1x2x3x

Kibbe

• 500 g bulgur
• 1 kg minced beef
• 1 onion
• 1 tbsp pine nuts optional
• 3 tbsp walnuts optional
• 1 tsp sweet chili paste
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp coriander
• salt
• black pepper
• oil

Tabouleh

• 100 g bulgur
• 2 bunches fresh parsley
• ½ bunch fresh mint leaves
• 4 onions
• 2 tomatoes
• 120 ml olive oil
• 60 ml lemon juice
• 60 ml pomegranate juice
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• salt
• 1 romaine lettuce

Instructions

 

Making the dough:

• Wash the bulgur. Keep wet and set aside for half an hour
• In food processor, put half of minced beef, bulgur, salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, chili paste.
• Mix well to make a paste. Add a few spoons of water if required. Dough should be stiff but manageable.

Making the stuffing:

• Fry 500g of minced beef in a small amount of oil. Add salt and pepper.
• Chop the onion and fry it lightly. Then fry the pine seeds and walnuts. Mix all ingredients to make the stuffing.
• Form kibbe dough into hollows balls (like cups), fill with stuffing, close and form into shape. In a deep frying pan, heat oil well. Drop each ball at a time. Fry them until golden and crispy.
• Serve hot with Tabouleh.

Tabbouleh

• Put bulgur in a small bowl. Add lemon juice and pomegranate juice
• Strip leaves of parsley from stems by running your thumb and forefinger up the stem. Thoroughly wash 3-4 times to be sure to remove all dirt
• Cut the parsley and the mint as fine as possible. Place the romaine lettuce at the bottom of a bowl
• Finely chop the green onions and dice the tomatoes finely
• Mix parsley, fresh mint, onions and tomatoes with all other ingredients and pour over the lettuce.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

About the Country Chef

Asma is a Canadian of Syrian origin. She started cooking at a very young age, helping her working mother in the kitchen. With her mother’s inspirational instructions she learnt to cook the many dishes Syria has to offer. As a mother, Asma started to explore on more food which her children liked and looked to improve her cooking, making sure to provide them with healthy, tasty and good meals. https://www.facebook.com/CookingWithAsma

Read more about IngredientMatcher’s Country Chefs in the Foodie section

Read more about national dishes and the ebook “National Dishes From Around The World”

Read more about other national dish recipes published on this blog