Fried, Stuffed , Ground Bulgur-Meat Balls
(Aqras Kibbeh Maqliyya)
MAKES 16
This recipe is a translation and adaptation of one in Alif Baa al-Tabkh (The ABC of Cooking) by Sima Osman Yassine and Sadouf Kamal (Dar El-Ilm Lil-Malayin, 1980), a classic Arabic cookbook published in Beirut.
FOR THE FILLING:
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped
1/2 lb. ground beef sirloin
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1 tbsp. ground sumac
FOR THE SHELL:
1 1/2 cups fine bulgur
1 small yellow onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 tbsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/2 tsp. grond cinnamon
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 lb. lean lamb or beef, trimmed of all fat and sinew
Vegetable oil
1. For the filling: Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook until soft, 8-10 minutes. Add meat and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, 5-7 minutes. Add salt, all spice, and cinnamon and cook until meat begins to brown, 3-4 minutes more. Transfer to a bowl, stir in nuts and sumac, and let cool.
2. For the shell: Rinse bulgur, squeeze out excess water, and put into a large bowl. Add onions, salt, allspice, cinnamon, and pepper and set aside. Grind meat twice in a meat to bulgur-meat mixture, 1 tbsp. at a time, kneading mixture in bowl into a pliable paste, about 5 minutes. Cover bowl with a clean dish towel.
3. Shape about ¼ cup of the bulgur-meat paste into a ball, moistening your hands with water as your work. hold ball in one hand and insert index finger of other hand into center to form a hole. Shape ball into a thin-walled (about ¼"-thick) oval with an opening at one end by rotating ball and gradually tapering closed end while enlarging hole with your index finger. Mend any racks in shel with a moistened finger. Fill hole with 1½ tbsp. of the filling. Moisten rim of hole, then gather edges together to seal. Gently form kibbeh into the shape of an egg and keep moist under a clean dish towl. Repeat shaping and filling process with remaining filling and bugur-meat paste to make 16 egg-shaped ball in all.
4. Pour oil into a medium pot to a depth of 2" and heat over medium heat until temperature registers 375º on a candy thermometer. Fry kibbeh in small batches until browned all over, 3-4 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Serve warm or at room temperature with plain yogurt on the side for dipping and sprigs of mint for garnish, if you like.
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