Finely chop then sauté the onions with a bit of olive oil until they start turning translucent
","image":"","section":"Meat Stuffing Preparation"},{"text":"Add the ground beef, 7-spices, salt, mix well and then sauté on medium heat for 5 minutes or until the beef is cooked
","image":"","section":"Meat Stuffing Preparation"},{"text":"A couple of minutes before the meat is cooked, mix in the pine nuts and cook for a couple more minutes then let rest and cool down.
","image":"","section":"Meat Stuffing Preparation"},{"text":"Mix the yeast in half a cup of warm water with a bit of sugar. Let rest for a few minutes.
","image":"","section":"Dough Preparation"},{"text":"Mix and knead the dough ingredients along with the yeast liquid in a bowl, cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
","image":"","section":"Dough Preparation"},{"text":"Place dough on a kitchen counter dusted with flour, and flatten with a dough roller into a large sheet the thickness of 2 coins (1/8th of an inch).
","image":"","section":"Dough Preparation"},{"text":"Using a water bottle lid (or small cookie cutter), cut the dough into disks the size of a quarter (3/4th of an inch in diameter)
","image":"","section":"Dough Preparation"},{"text":"Holding a dough disk flat with one hand, add 1/2 teaspoon of stuffing in the center.
","image":"","section":"Making the Dumplings"},{"text":"Fold and close dough sides over the stuffing into a half moon shape. Then pull edges around and flatten the circumference to make it all look like a “hat”.
","image":"","section":"Making the Dumplings"},{"text":"The idea here is to lock the stuffing properly and well inside of the dough. If you know of other methods or have some ravioli making tools, be creative.
","image":"","section":"Making the Dumplings"},{"text":"Line up all the dumplings on a flour dusted plate
","image":"","section":"Making the Dumplings"},{"text":"Pour 12 cups of water and 2 lb of labneh (strained yogurt) in a cooking pot, mix well until all Labneh is dissolved, then place on stove over medium-low heat and keep on stirring gently until it reaches a boil, at which time you turn the heat to low.
","image":"","section":"Shish Barak Cooking Method 1: With a Labneh Base"},{"text":"Mix in 2 crushed cloves of garlic.
","image":"","section":"Shish Barak Cooking Method 1: With a Labneh Base"},{"text":"Mix in the dried mint powder and dried cilantro leaves.
","image":"","section":"Shish Barak Cooking Method 1: With a Labneh Base"},{"text":"Add 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon of salt (to taste).
","image":"","section":"Shish Barak Cooking Method 1: With a Labneh Base"},{"text":"Add juice from 1 freshly squeezed lemon. If you’re using goat yogurt you can skip this step.
","image":"","section":"Shish Barak Cooking Method 1: With a Labneh Base"},{"text":"Gently add the Shish Barak dumplings, bring the stew to a boil again, and then let simmer for 15-20 minutes on low heat while gently but constantly stirring.
","image":"","section":"Shish Barak Cooking Method 1: With a Labneh Base"},{"text":"Serve hot as a soup
","image":"","section":"Shish Barak Cooking Method 1: With a Labneh Base"},{"text":"Repeat the above steps but using 10 cups of plain yogurt with 2 cups of water instead of using Labneh. Be mindful that if using yogurt you need to stir very well for proper assimilation.
","image":"","section":"Cooking Method 2: With Greek Yogurt"}],"notes":"If you’re making extra dumplings for future use, lay dumplings on a flour dusted tray in the freezer for a couple of hours, and then pack them in small ziplog bags (about 7 – 8 oz each) and store back in freezer for a few months. Each bag (or 7 – 8 oz) of ready dumplings can make 4 servings.
","nutrition":[],"video_url":"","rating_value":"4.6","rating_count":"5","url":"https://mamaslebanesekitchen.com/stews/shish-barak-recipe-meat-dumplings-yogurt/","attribution":"Recipe by Mama's Lebanese Kitchen"}