Shishbarak - Meat and Pine Nut Dumplings in Yogurt Sauce

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Wrapping Dough

1. 1
   In a bowl, mix the flour and salt.

   Bowl
2. 2
   Add the oil and the water and Knead about 5 minutes, until you get a smooth, soft dough that doesn't stick to your hands.

   ⚙ KneadingBowlStand mixer

   💡If the dough sticks, add a tablespoon of flour; if it crumbles, a tablespoon of water. Good dough is as soft as an earlobe.
3. 3
   Cover and let the dough rest 30 minutes at room temperature.

   💡Oil-and-water dough needs no rising: the rest relaxes the gluten, so the dough rolls out thin without shrinking back.

For the Pastry Filling

1. 4
   Heat the oil in a wide pan over medium heat.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStoveFrying pan
2. 5
   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.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡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. 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, 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. 7
   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. 8
   Add the baharat and fry another 1–2 minutes, until fragrant.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove
6. 9
   Add the pine nuts and mix well.

   💡Pine nuts and other nuts get a deeper flavor when you first toast them 2–3 minutes in a dry pan, until lightly golden.
7. 10
   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.

To assemble

1. 11
   Roll out the dough thin. Cut out 5 cm rounds.

   ⚙ Rolling Out DoughRolling pinCookie cutter

   💡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.
2. 12
   Place a teaspoon of filling in the center of each round, fold into a half-moon and press the edges firmly together.

   💡Press the edges together firmly: a dumpling that opens while cooking loses its filling to the sauce.
3. 13
   Cook the dumplings in boiling salted water 5 minutes, and remove with a slotted spoon.

   ⚙ Cooking in salted waterStovePotSlotted spoon
4. 14
   Put the yogurt, egg, starch and garlic in a pot and heat slowly over a low flame for about 10 minutes. Stir constantly until the yogurt sauce is hot and thick, and don't let it boil.

   StovePotWhisk

   💡Yogurt that boils splits into curds: heat it over low heat and stir constantly.

   💡The cornstarch stabilizes the yogurt, so you can heat the dumplings in it without the sauce splitting.
5. 15
   Arrange the dumplings on a plate and pour the yogurt sauce over them.