Kubbeh Hamusta — Bulgur Dumplings in Sour Soup with homemade cooked chickpeas and homemade chicken stock

👨‍🍳 Method

For the homemade cooked chickpeas ✓ Homemade · or skip – back to store-bought

1. 1
   Soak the chickpeas overnight in plenty of cold water.

   Bowl

   💡Soak in plenty of water, well above what's being soaked: legumes and grains swell and drink water, and whatever sticks out stays hard. Drain well before continuing.
2. 2
   Drain, cover with plenty of unsalted water and cook 1.5–2 hours, skimming off the foam and skins from time to time, until the chickpeas are very soft and crush easily between your fingers.

   ColanderStovePot

   💡Fully cooked chickpeas crush between your fingers with no resistance at all. Chickpeas that stay a little firm make a grainy spread, and no amount of tahini will fix it.
3. 3
   Drain, reserving a cup of the cooking liquid.

   Colander

For the homemade chicken stock ✓ Homemade · or skip – back to store-bought

1. 4
   Put the chicken, the onion, carrot, celery, parsley, bay leaves and peppercorns and the water in a pot and bring to a boil. Skim off the foam that rises during the first 15 minutes with a spoon.

   StovePot
2. 5
   Turn down and simmer gently 2.5–3 hours.

   Stove

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
3. 6
   Strain the stock.

   Colander

For the Kubbeh

1. 7
   Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat.

   StoveFrying pan
2. 8
   Add the onion and fry 5–8 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges. If it browns too fast, lower the heat.

   Stove

   💡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.
3. 9
   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, until a brown crust forms.

   Stove

   💡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.
4. 10
   Break it up with a wooden spoon and fry for 5–7 more minutes, stirring, until no pink is left and the meat browns.

   StoveWooden spoon
5. 11
   Add the baharat and fry another 1–2 minutes, until fragrant.

   Stove
6. 12
   Remove from the heat and cool the filling completely, about half an hour.

   💡Fill dough only with completely cooled filling: a hot filling softens the dough, makes it hard to seal and makes the pastry soggy inside.
7. 13
   Soak the bulgur 20 minutes in the boiling water with the salt, covered, until the water is absorbed.

   Bowl

   💡Bulgur soaked covered in boiling water softens without getting too wet: no need to squeeze it, and after good kneading it holds together as a dough.
8. 14
   Knead the bulgur well by hand, into an even dough that holds together.

   BowlStand mixer
9. 15
   Take a ball of dough, press a cup into it with your finger, fill with the cold filling and seal well.

   💡Wet your hands with cold water between one kubbeh and the next: the dough doesn't stick, and you can shape a thin, even wall.
10. 16
    Set the kubbeh aside in a single layer until the soup is ready.

To assemble

1. 17
   Bring to a boil in a wide pot the stock, garlic, cumin and chickpeas.

   StoveWide, shallow pot
2. 18
   Stir in the lemon juice and salt. Taste: the soup should be sour. Adjust to taste.

   💡Balance at the end, once the flavors have come together: add sour, sweet and salty a little at a time, tasting between additions.
3. 19
   Add the kubbeh to the boiling soup. Turn down the heat and simmer 15–20 minutes, until the kubbeh float and are cooked through.

   Stove

   💡Add the kubbeh only to soup that is already boiling, and don't stir with a spoon at first: in lukewarm liquid the dough softens and falls apart.
4. 20
   Serve hot in bowls with Arab bread.