990. Iraqi Kubba Mosel

From a very young age I had an affinity to kubba. If it was on the table for lunch, I would eat myself sick of them. By far, the Iraqi kubba halab is and always has been my favorite. The dill kubba is a close second, and this Iraqi kubba Mosel (كبة موصل), the thirteenth type of kubba on MCW, is also way up there.
I always held myself back from making it due to a disastrous attempt a few years back. Story goes that a few decades ago, a mother in law in the Northern Iraq town of Mosel would test the worthiness of a potential daughter in law by the thickness of her kubba crust. Once I tried out the recipe below, I was blown away by how straight forward the process is and there was nothing to fear after all!

Ingredients: makes 4 large kubbas

1 1/2 cups fine burghul
1 1/2 cups fine jareesh
2 tsp salt
2 cups water
250g lean beef mince
500g fatty lamb mince
1 onion, grated
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp powder chili
1 tsp powdered edible rose petals

Method:

To make the crust: In a bowl, mix together the burghul, jareesh, and 2 teaspoons of salt. Stir in the water and let stand for 20 minutes. In a food processor, blitz the lean beef mince until it becomes a pink paste. Add the soaked burghul mix and process again until fully combined and the mixture is a pale pink dough. Depending on the size of your food processor, it might be easier to do this in two batches. Press the dough into a bowl, then cut into eight segments (quarter, then halve each quarter). Set aside.
In a separate bowl, prepare the filling. Combine the fatty lamb mince, grated onion, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, allspice, cinnamon, chili, and powdered edible rose petals. Mix well by hand. Press the mixture into the bowl, then divide into four.
For each kubba, you will need two crust segments and one filling segment.
Cut open two plastic kitchen bags to form one large rectangle, with a width larger than a dining plate. Lay one bag on your work surface, and put one segment of the crust dough in the middle. Cover with the second plastic bag. Roll the dough until it is the size of a dining plate. Invert a dining plate over the rolled dough and remove excess; set aside. Repeat for a second segment. Now take one quarter of the filling mixture and press over one of the rolled crusts, leaving an inch border throughout the circle. You can sprinkle with come almonds and sultanas, or leave it plain. Invert the other crust, with the bottom plastic still attached to help in placement. Your kubba should now be layered as such: bottom plastic, bottom crust, filling, top crust, top plastic. With the top plastic still attached, carefully seal the kubba, pushing out any air pockets before sealing the edges tightly. Peel off top plastic layer and set aside on the counter to dry for about an hour. Meanwhile, repeat the process three more times to use up all the remaining dough and filling.
After it dries for an hour, you can place in large ziplock plastic bags and freeze the kubba until needed.
To cook, you can either boil it until it floats, or shallow fry it on both sides, or brush it in oil and grill it (in the oven or over the barbecue). Serve hot with a fresh salad and a side of pickles.

صحة و عافية