I don't recall meeting anyone who doesn't like shish barak, a thin dough with meat filling in a thick yoghurt sauce. At the beginning of my vacation this year, I found my mom in the kitchen teaching my sister how to make it. I joined them and decided to do this post. The only drawback is that in order to make your life much easier, you will need the tool shown below, otherwise I know personally I would never go through the hassle. The tool is from Syria, so if you know anyone from there you might want to ask them to get you one.
This is the tool I was telling you about, instead of having to make each shish barak piece individually, like we used do when we were kids, this way you will get 30 pieces at a time.
The dough for the shish barak is very basic with no yeast.
For the dough you will need:
5 cups flour
Salt
2cups warm water gradually added. Mix and knead.
Filling
For the meat filling you can use Kafta which is minced meat mixed with onion and parsely or you can make your own mix.
For 1/2 kilo minced meat, you will need: 1 onion finely chopped, 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of each all spice, black pepper, cinnamon, salt, paprika. Mix well.
Directions
Divide dough in 6 parts. Using the rolling pin flatten the dough then place on the shish barak tool.
Fill in the holes with tiny pices of kafta, remember to stay away from the edges of each hole so the edges will stick properly in the next step.
Place a second thin layer of dough above the first. Pass the rolling pin above it to make sure they stick together.
Press the rolling pin harder to make sure they shish barak will easily be cut off the tool.
Once you feel the two dough pieces are stuck together very well you can start removing the extra dough from the sides.
Now turn the tool around and tap its side hard onto a clean counter or board till they fall off.
What a beautiful sight, I surprise myself with my iPhone photos sometimes
Don't they look adorable? You can fry them or opt for the healthier option, spray some oil on a baking sheet and put in the oven till golden brown.
Mind the smashed shish barak.
They are now ready for the oven. Leave until golden brown.
For the yoghurt sauce, there are several recipes, but the recipe for one I like to use is:
Yoghurt Sauce
2kg yoghurt, could be full fat or skim, your choice.
3 cloves of mashed garlic
1 Tbs corn starch dissolved in 1/4 cup cold water
Dried mint
Salt
Combine everything for the sauce except the mint, stir on low heat till the mixture boils and the yoghurt thickens. Add the dried mint and then the shish barak. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. You can also add small stuffed kibbeh to the shish barak and serve next to white rice.
Bon Apetit !
