Saturday, March 17, 2012

3. Semolina Kubba


For those not familiar with kubba, the main idea is some form of a dough that is filled with a cooked mince meat mixture. There are a variety of kubba cooked in various ways and eaten either as is or as a part of a dish.
The best use for this particular kubba is to be boiled in a soup (as will be demonstrated in a future post), kind of like meatballs are sometimes added to soup. And, like meatballs, they may be fried and eaten by themselves, without compromising taste (as is demonstrated in this post).
This recipe produces around 45 kubba, depending on the size you choose to make.



Ingredients:

For the Filling:
450g minced meat
2 medium onions, chopped
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cinnemon
1 tsp alspice
1/4 tsp chilli
1/2 bouquet parsley, leaves chopped

For the Dough:
2 cup rice, ground
4 cup fine semolina
3 tsp salt
water, accordingly



The cooked filling (left), and the dough (right).


Right: the formed uncookedd kubba; Left: making the kubba.

Method:

Heat a pan and ad the minced meat, keep turning over with a wooden spoon to allow the meat to brown evenly.
When any trace of red had gone from the meat, add the chopped onions and all the seasonings and spices.
Keep cooking another 10 to 15 mins, until the meat is well browned and the onions have wilted.
Set aside to cool enough to handle.
Stir in the chopped parsley.

To make the dough, mix by hand the ground rice, semolina, and salt, just enough to distribute the components.
Then slowly add water by handfuls, mixing and kneading after each addion, until a firm and elastic dough is formed.

To make the kubba, it is easier to lightly oil the palm of your hands.
Take a walnut-sized ball of dough and flatten it on your palm, keeping the piece intact.
Place a teaspoonful of the filling in the center of the dough .
Begin to close the edges around the filling to securely seal it in.
Make sure there are no holes in the dough, as these are intended for boiling, the holes will release the filling in the water or soup, making the dish look like a mess.

At this stage you make place the kubba eavenly spaced in a tray covered with cling film and freeze for future use.
The kubba may be fried and served as a side dish, or you may pop them in a soup to add substinance and make the soup more interesting.

Other Kubbas:
Kubba Halab
Kubba Burghul
Beetroot Kubba
Lentil Kubba
Rice Kubba
Potato Chap
Kibbe Bil-Siniyeh (Tray Kubba)
Iraqi Dill Kubba


 صحة و عافية



4 comments:

Jonathan said...

Do you grind your own rice or buy it already ground?

Anonymous said...

I think she grinds it herself fresh because she showed the Basmati in the ingredients. You can use a coffee grinder.

Anonymous said...

Hello, what type of semolina do you use for this? The flour type or ground?

Maryam said...

Hello. I used the fine grain semolina. It's not a flour, but it's not coarse either.