How long does it take to make Shish Barak?

The dough: flour, a little salt and water, sometimes a tablespoon of oil; knead into a smooth, non-sticky dough, cover and let rest about half an hour, roll thin and cut 5–8 cm rounds.

1 hr 37 minTotal

24 minActive time

1 hr 14 minSetting

Step by Step

#	What to do	How long
1	In a bowl, mix the flour and salt	1 min
2	Add the oil and the water and Knead about 5 minutes	5 min
3	Cover and let the dough rest 30 minutes at room temperature	30 min
4	Heat the olive oil in a wide pan over medium heat	3 min
5	Add the onion and fry 5–8 minutes, stirring now and then	6 min
6	Raise the heat to medium-high and add the meat. Press it flat over the bottom and leave it for 2–3 minutes without stirring	2 min
7	Break it up with a wooden spoon and fry for 5–7 more minutes, stirring	6 min
8	Season with salt and black pepper	1 min
9	Remove from the heat and cool the filling completely, about half an hour	30 min
10	Roll out the dough thin. Cut out 5 cm rounds	—
11	Place a teaspoon of filling in the center of each round, fold into a half-moon and press the edges firmly together	1 min
12	Put the yogurt, garlic and olive oil in a pot and heat slowly over a low flame. Stir constantly	—
13	Add the dumplings to the sauce and cook over low heat 10 minutes, stirring gently	10 min
14	Serve the dumplings hot in the sauce	1 min

How to Tell It's Done

until you get a smooth, soft dough that doesn't stick to your hands
until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges
until a brown crust forms
until no pink is left and the meat browns
until the yogurt sauce is hot and thick, and don't let it boil
until the dough is cooked

Tips

If the dough sticks, add a tablespoon of flour; if it crumbles, a tablespoon of water. Good dough is as soft as an earlobe.
Oil-and-water dough needs no rising: the rest relaxes the gluten, so the dough rolls out thin without shrinking back.
Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
Brown ground beef in the pot without pressing it: leave it as one 'cake' for a few minutes until a brown crust forms, then break it into chunks. Deep browning = deep flavor.
Fill dough only with completely cooled filling: a hot filling softens the dough, makes it hard to seal and makes the pastry soggy inside.
Roll from the center outward and give the dough a quarter turn between rolls: this keeps it even in thickness and stops it sticking to the counter. If it springs back, cover for 10–15 minutes and try again.

More Ways

Fill each round, fold into a half-moon and join the two ends together into a shell shape.
Simmer the dumplings in the yogurt sauce over low heat about 10 minutes.
Stabilize the yogurt sauce with a teaspoon of flour, stir until thick and turn off the heat at once, without letting it boil.
For manti-style dumplings, cook the dumplings a few minutes in salted water and serve them on the yogurt.

The full recipe: Shish Barak (Meat Dumplings in Yogurt) →