Shish Barak (Lebanese Meat Dumplings in Warm Garlic Yogurt Sauce)
شیش برک (گرم لہسن والے دہی میں لبنانی گوشت کی پکوڑیاں)
Shish barak are little dumplings of thin dough wrapped around spiced mince and pine nuts, shaped like small hats, baked until golden and then cooked in a hot yogurt sauce. Just before serving, garlic and dried mint or coriander are sizzled in butter and poured over, exactly like a . Sometimes called "Lebanese ravioli", they're a cousin of Turkish mantı and Central Asian dumplings. The trick is stabilising the yogurt so it doesn't split, which is explained below.
- ⏱ Total: 1 hr 30 min
- Prep: 1 hr
- Cook: 30 min
- Hard
- Serves 4
Method
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Knead the flour, salt and water into a smooth, firm dough. Cover and rest for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, fry the onion, mince, pine nuts, baharat and salt for 10 minutes until browned and dry. Cool.
Roll the dough thinly (2 mm) and cut 5 cm rounds. Put ½ tsp filling on each, fold into a half-moon and press the edges. Bring the two corners together around your finger and pinch, to make a little hat.
Bake the dumplings on a tray at 200°C for 10–12 minutes until lightly golden.
In a pot, whisk the yogurt with the cornflour mixture, egg and salt until smooth. Heat on medium, stirring constantly in one direction, until it comes to a gentle boil (about 10 minutes).
Add the dumplings and simmer gently for 8–10 minutes until the dough is cooked through.
Fry the garlic in the butter for 1 minute, add the coriander, and pour over the shish barak. Serve hot with rice or bread.
Kitchen notes
Stirring constantly in one direction while the yogurt heats is the traditional rule that stops it splitting; the cornflour and egg make it foolproof.
Short on time? Use ready-made dumpling wrappers or wonton skins.
Baked dumplings freeze well; add them straight to the yogurt sauce from frozen.
Lebanon’s dumplings
Shish barak are a traditional dish in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine, often made by several generations of a family together, with grandmothers shaping the tiny hats. Dumplings like these spread along the old trade routes from Central Asia, which is why they’re related to Turkish mantı and Afghan mantu.
Cooking with hot yogurt
Arab cooks have many dishes cooked in hot yogurt (laban), such as shish barak and mansaf. Yogurt splits easily when heated, so it’s stabilised with cornflour and often an egg, and stirred constantly in one direction until it boils. Our guide to cooking with yogurt explains why this works.
The finishing tarka
A final splash of garlic fried in butter with coriander (or dried mint) transforms the pale sauce, adding fragrance and colour, the same idea as a South Asian on daal.
Serving
Serve hot with plain rice or vermicelli rice and a crisp salad. For another Levantine yogurt dish, try mansaf.
Questions people ask
How is shish barak different from mantı?
Both are meat dumplings with yogurt and garlic. Turkish mantı are tiny, boiled and topped with cold garlic yogurt; shish barak are baked, then cooked in a hot yogurt sauce.
Why did my yogurt sauce split?
It was heated too fast or not stirred. Use full-fat yogurt, stabilise with cornflour (and egg), and stir constantly until it boils.
Nutrition (estimate, per serving)
- Calories
- 560
- Protein
- 30 g
- Fat
- 26 g
- Carbs
- 50 g
