Semolina/bulgur kibbeh (Kuttelk)
January 15, 2012 • Category: Main Dish
This is a traditional kibbeh from Merdin, Turkey made in Beirut by Asma Z., a Kurdish lady. Asma is one of my favorite people here and she told me some tidbits from her life; her family left Turkey and settled in Lebanon and her mother put her to work as a maid at the age of ten. As a result, she never learned how to read or write; thanks to her superior intellect and her determination she finally did while her own children were attending elementary school.
This kibbeh is absolutely delicious and has two marked advantages: One, it is boiled and not fried. Two, it is easier to shape than our traditional Lebanese kibbeh.
The shell is composed of fine bulgur and semolina flour; Asma used a mix given to her by a friend who brought it from Syria. She recommends using a bleached bulgur and a coarse semolina flour to obtain the same results. Once boiled, the kibbeh is soft and doughy and the stuffing is juicy and bursting with flavor.
Asma mentioned that some people like to fry the kibbeh after boiling it. The kibbeh are best at room temperature. She said it is traditional to eat these and drink a glass of ayran (yogurt drink).
INGREDIENTS:
For the shells: 2 cups of fine bulgur and one cup of semolina and 3 1/2 cups of water; salt and pepper to taste.
For the stuffing:
- 1/2 pound of ground beef, fatty OK
- 1 pound of onions, chopped fine
- 1 cup of chopped parsley
- 1/4 cup of hot red pepper paste or chili paste
- Salt, pepper to taste
- Heat a little olive oil and fry the onion until translucent and golden; add the meat and fry till browned and add the spices; add the chili paste and the chopped parsley and mix to combine. Set the stuffing aside.
- Place the bulgur and semolina in a bowl. Cover with hot water and leave it there for 15 minutes. Drain and squeeze the mixture. Place in the bowl of a food processor and run the machine, adding water (one teaspoon at a time) if necessary, until the mixture holds together and is a firm but moist dough.
- Make small egg-size balls and hollow them with the index finger; stuff them with 2 or 3 teaspoons of the meat stuffing and pat the opening to seal it well.
- When ready to eat, boil 2 quarts of salted water and drop the kibbeh in the water, only a few at a time; boil gently for 3 to 4 minutes then drain. Serve the kibbeh at room temperature.
Comments
57 Comments • Comments Feed
Ruby says:
Interesting that they’re spicy, and I like that they’re boiled not fried. My paternal grandmother was a Kurd – I’ll have to give these a try!
On January 15, 2012 at 3:26 am
Rosa says:
Those look mighty scrumptious! I bet I would not be able to stop with 2…
Cheers,
Rosa
On January 15, 2012 at 4:21 am
pierre says:
c’est pour moi c’est vrai l’avantage que ce soit non frit est top !! bizz de paris sous le soleil mais froid !pierre
On January 15, 2012 at 4:39 am
Angel of the North says:
These look fascinating. Given the boiling method, I’m wondering what a good veggie filling might be.
On January 15, 2012 at 4:48 am
Angie@Angiesrecipes says:
Savoury, spicy filling sounds perfect for me. I am seriously tempted with the crust made with a mix of fine bulgur and semolina.
On January 15, 2012 at 5:42 am
Jojo says:
Boiled….it’s hard to imagine but the look delicious!
On January 15, 2012 at 6:06 am
Alice K says:
I tasted them and I can confidently say to anyone reading this that these were DELICIOUS!!! I think I like these more than the Lebanese kibbeh!
On January 15, 2012 at 9:09 am
Shannon|JustAsDelish says:
These look like deliciously fried, but it’s boiled. I like! Would love to make these to surprise my Iraqi fiance, have to go find bulgur at middle eastern shops. thanks for sharing!
On January 15, 2012 at 9:50 am
culinaireamoula says:
Une parfaite recette,comme je les aime…. très bonne soirée.
On January 15, 2012 at 11:24 am
Arlette says:
Hello Joumana,
very interesting post, but I like to clear some information and correct Asma , and pls do understand I am not hear accusing any one, or entering a political debate, or argument, but explaining some true facts…..these Kuttel kibbe are Aramic and not Kurdish, and Mardin is one of the christian Aramic cities which is now under the Turkish Govt, The History of our Church siezed and stollen by the Govt. You can google The Monastery of St. Gabriel,which is the oldest surviving Syriac Orthodox monastery in the world. It is located on the Tur Abdin plateau near Midyat in the Mardin Province in Southeastern Turkey, the motherland of the Assyrian/Syriac people.
I did a posting before about the Kbeibat or Koubeibeh in my blog, and I did refer to the origin of this Kuttleh, and I encourage any one to try them, because they are good and lighter than the fried kebbeh.
On January 15, 2012 at 2:15 pm
Dr. Matthew Banno says:
Dear Arlette,
Just read your article to Juamana and was glad to learn that someone like yourself who knows our history and culture. From memory, my mother and aunts used cook this kibbeh in the past and at the time I was told that in the old days when people were poorer, they cooked this kibbeh to replace the original and more expensive “Kibbeh Mosul” where meat is also used in making the shell, so that means the making of Kibbeh Mosul is a class above which was usually served in special occasions.
By the way, I am an Assyrian Orthodox and as you’ve mentioned, we were the natives of that region well before the Islamic invasion and the division of Mesopotamia.
Coincidentally, you’ve had misspelled the word “hear” where it should’ve read “here”
Thank you.
On February 20, 2017 at 3:54 am
Helane says:
My grandparents were from Mardin and we make these for New Years!
On January 4, 2023 at 12:55 am
Joumana Accad says:
@Helane WOW! Glad to hear they are the same your grandparents use!
On January 11, 2023 at 2:15 am
Velva says:
I enjoy the nutty flavor of bulgur. I think I have never enjoyed bulgar as part of an ingredient in the crust-that would provide a very nice flavor. I would appreciate and enjoy eating these kibbeh.
I love coming to your blog. The food always inspires me.
Cheers.
Velva
On January 15, 2012 at 4:03 pm
Susan says:
What delicious little bites they must be!
On January 15, 2012 at 5:11 pm
bergamot says:
The kibbeh looks delicious.
On January 15, 2012 at 7:57 pm
Rose says:
Thank you, Arlette, for your accurate and much appreciated clarification regarding the origin of Baybat, which is what these “boiled kibbeh” are called by the native Assyrians of Merdin. As you so perfectly stated, these are a product of Merdin and Tur Abdin’s ancient Christian Assyrian heritage. I, too, don’t want to politicize your beautiful blog by discussing the tragic, brutal fate of the Assyrians, which is inextricably linked to the Kurds and the Turks. But these are Baybat which the local Kurds appropriated from the native Christian population. This is sadly similar to the Israelis referring to Falafel as Israeli/Jewish cuisine.
On January 16, 2012 at 1:16 am
samir says:
Delicious,,some Assyrian friends of the family make this in a very lemony soup..they boil the dumplings in the soup or place them in the soup after boiling not sure, swiss chard, leeks, parsley ..lemon. , and a tomato based one i think.and they also fried them up ….thank you and Asma for the great recipes and videos!
On January 16, 2012 at 2:02 am
Nuts about food says:
Those look so good, and perhaps because they are boiled and not fried, you can eat a few more?
On January 16, 2012 at 4:54 am
Lan says:
hello,
i am most interested in the shells recipe. is it just the flours + water and kneaded until smooth?
On January 16, 2012 at 2:47 pm
Joumana says:
@Lan: Yes, but only add the water one tablespoon at a time/ if the dough seems too pasty.
On January 16, 2012 at 2:56 pm
Shamirahm says:
Hello,
I’m an Assyrian whose parents are originally from Midyat, a town in South-east Turkey
close to the border with Syria. I want to clarify some things about the recipe given above. These is indeed a Assyrian dish and you pronounce it as koutleh. We are very proud of our koutleh and we even have a song about it! This is eaten with a salad with a lemon-oil dressing and one must drink it with icecold doughe as we Assyrians call ayran (doughe comes from the Assyrian word for dizzy)When a Assyrian boy sees a beautiful girl he will say:” Qe sehmoh meghi doughe”, meaning:”She makes me dizzy, it’s like stirring doughe”. Assyrian women are expected to master the art of making koutleh, but it is not so easy as it seems. It is a skill that has to be practised. The shell has to be thin and that is not easy with this dough. Also the Assyrians from Amedia(Diyarbakir) have their own recipe for koutleh that is different from those in Midyat. And not koutleh but ajin(kubbeh naye) is the native food of the Mirdaliyeh. We the Midyoye learned it from them. The Kurds who came to live in our towns and villages learned making this delicious food from the Assyrian women, and so it now is becoming a popular dish throughout the Middle East.
Greetings from Hollanda.
On January 16, 2012 at 4:54 pm
Joumana says:
@Shamirahm: Thank you and all the others who so kindly informed me of the true origin of this dish. As for Asma, she only knew it since she was a child growing up in Merdin (Turkey) and saw her family and relatives making it for years and years, never suspecting it was in fact an Assyrian dish.
On January 19, 2012 at 7:28 am
Belinda @zomppa says:
These are perfectly made – I am salivating just thinking about them!
On January 16, 2012 at 5:59 pm
Caffettiera says:
The lady makes it look so easy to shape them, but I’m quite sure it’s not! However I’ll have to be brave and try it just the same. She’s a huge inspiration for sure.
On January 17, 2012 at 4:20 am
weirdcombos says:
Joumana,
Do you think this kibbeh can be steamed instead of boiled? I can stuff it with soy protein or mushrooms yumm
It is totally a novelty to me. It is sort of a pot sticker from the Middle East. Love it! The colors are magnificent.
Heguiberto
On January 18, 2012 at 11:05 pm
Joumana says:
@Weircombos: I am not sure it can be steamed, but I would encourage you to try it with a couple and see. If it looks like they disintegrate, then off to the boiling pot.
On January 19, 2012 at 12:48 am
Gula welat says:
Merci joumanah pour ce super post
Tu sais quand j’ai vu la forme j’ai tout de suite pensé que ton ami kurde etait de merdin ou de ma region diyarbakir. Et quand j’ai lu je me suis pas tromper!
Ma mere les fait exactement de cette forme aussi. C’est typique de cette region.
Nous ne sommes pas assyriens ma ville dont vient ma mere n’a pas de culture assyrienne
Surtout en y regardant de plus pres ton amie utilise peu d’ingredients, pas d’epices particulieres a part le piment que nous aimons beaucoup nous les kurdes (les epices sont tres representatives de la cuisine assyrienne)
Les kibbeh ou kutlik sont des kufte repandu dans tout le moyen orient, seul le gout et la forme change mais le principe reste le meme. Donc je pense que personne ne peut s’attribuer ce plat. A chacun sa facon de faire, c’edt pourquoi je trouve cela osé de dire que c’est un plat assyrien.
On January 19, 2012 at 1:53 pm
Joumana says:
@Gula: Je suis contente que tu confirmes ce que Asma m’avait dit, sa mère aussi faisait ce plat comme ça, c’est d’elle qu’elle a appris a le faire; toute sa famille vient de Merdin et Diyarbakir, en fait récemment elle m’a offert un délicieux pot de confiture de piments rouges!
On January 19, 2012 at 11:35 pm
Gula welat says:
D’ailleurs moi aussi je fais ma pate a base de semoule et de boulgour. Comme tu avais pu le voir sur mon blog j’utilise la meme pate pour mes kibbeh et d’ailleurs je suis impressionnee de voir que c’est la meme technique que celle de ma mere :-0
Par contre je note le fait de mettre beaucoup plus de semoule que de boulgour moi je fait 50-50.
Ta confiture de piment doit etre delicieuse!!
On January 20, 2012 at 4:14 am
Shamirahm says:
Hello again,
I really have to disagree with Gula Welat. If i understand her correctly her city or village has no Assyrian heritage or culture. How would she know?Even the educated Kurds have said that they have taken a lot from Assyrian culture, music and food. Prior to WWI the mayority of people in Mardin district belonged to the native Assyrian Christians. After the genocide in 1915 by the Young Turks and their allied Kurdish tribes less than 200.000 Assyrians survived in what is now South-East Turkey, North-Syria and North Iraq, subsueqently the areas Kurds settled in and now claim is Koerdistan. In the Tur Abdin where there are only 2000 Assyrians left from the 70.000 in 1965, Kurds are now a mayority. They claim our land (see the case against St. Gabriel monastery), our history and now our food. And Gula Welat claims that koutleh and not “kutlek” are known over the whole of the Middle-East is just plain wrong. I know for a fact that not The Turks and not The Arabs in Libanon, Syria or Iraq not to mention the other Arabs knew or know of this dish. In al the cookbooks published about Middle-Eastern food, not once this dish is mentioned, not in Turkish, Arabic or European publications. I’m very happy that people get to eat this delicious food, but the origins and facts about the Assyrian culinary heritage must be clear. I hope that Gula Welat understands this, and also other readers of this blog. Every nation has it’s national dish and our’s is koutleh!
Greetings from Hollanda
On January 20, 2012 at 7:38 am
domi says:
De vraies petites bouchées de saveurs inédites pour nous et qui nous transporte le temps d’un instant gourmand dans ta merveilleuse cuisine des saveurs. Bisous et bon WE
On January 20, 2012 at 3:39 pm
Gula Welat says:
Let me laugh … You’re careful to say that in 1917 the Armenians and the Assyrians (accompanied by the Russian army) have committed a massacre of Kurdish Muslims in Van, Beyazit and rawandiz!
A read you the Assyrian so educated the poor Kurds (and other peoples of the Middle East) without culture and food? What a fine example of denial!
The Kurds are not born after the Assyrian empire. The Kurds have always lived in these territories. Like other people who lived in areas invaded by the Assyrians.
Assyria takes its name of “Assur” areas (a little area in the North of Mesopotamia)
Moreover, after the fall of the Assyrian Empire (612) other empires have succeeded, others were held conquests, so talk about the land of Assyria I do not understand because after the fall of the empire Assyrian never heard from them.
Bulgur and semolina are not the property of the Assyrians. Those cereals are grown throughout the Middle East, it is the nature of the soil who wants it. As if that pomegranate or fig is Assyrian!
Ground beef, onion and pepper are not the property Assyrian.
At this point anyone who cooks these ingredients makes Assyrian foods.
A little common sense please.
There would still special spices (I visited Merdin and learned that the kitchen Assyrian used many spices) I understand but it’s not . And I continue the kibbeh are not property of the Assyrian but Middle East.
I know the Assyrians of Iraq who speak on behalf Kurdish and when you scratch you realize they are not Kurdish … And how you dwell on the past, especially that of an empire that no longer exists for a long time.
You should also thank to Kurds and Barzani which today are the few people who protect Christians in the Middle East.
On January 21, 2012 at 8:13 am
Shamirahm says:
Hello again,
It is quite funny. I just looked up Gula Welat’s website and to my surprise she is from Amedia (Diyarbakir). Supposedly a city without Assyrian culture that she knows of. Of course Diyarbakir was prior to WWI a great centre of Assyrian and Armenian culture. That the mayority now is Kurdish doesn’t change it’s history and origins. The Kurdish mayor of Diyarbakir himself acknowledges the great contributions of the Assyrians and Armenians to the city and the culture and food of Diyarbakir (even the name is Assyrian: Diyar from the Assyrian word Deyro meaning monastery and bakir meaning great) and named streets in the city after Assyrian writers and intellectuals from the19th and 20th century. Of course there are none after 1915 in that area. But pleased to let you know that the Assyrian youth is doing great here in the West . And their is no harm in speaking about educated Kurds, i’ve been there, and there is abig difference between Kurds who got an education and those who are still analfebets. Is the truth something to be ashamed of? It is a deprived and underdeveloped part of Turkey. Why pretend it not to be? I think that it is not easy to hear something that you have considered a part of your own culture and food is in fact from another people who used to be the native people of that area. And I hope you are not serious about the city of Van. You mean the Armenian city where the Armenian population was deported to be massacred by the Turkish army and their allied Kurdish tribes. That is why the Kurds settled there, the city became empty. And the Armenians with backing of the Russian army retaliated. No Assyrians present there my dear nor in the other places you’ve mentioned. In 1917 they were too busy surviving.
And I have not claimed any ingredient you mentioned. I just said that koutleh and not “kutlekk” are an Assyrian dish. Every nation has a special dish and this is ours. And there is nothing wrong with clarifying things that are mispresented.
It seems it’s not only the Turks who get sensitive when we talk about the genocide of 1915. But we are here testifying and the truth cannot be hidden. And for dwelling about the past, then there is no need for the subject of history on schools and historybooks don’t have to be written and people shouldn’t be curious to know their past? That is not very educated of you Gula Welat!
On January 21, 2012 at 12:48 pm
Gula Welat says:
I usually read messages hostile to Kurdish Assyrians, why so jealous .. ha yes, because today we live in areas that you secretly jealous.
I can not help it if your empire has felt and this fall was not heard of the Assyrians. The conquest of the Kurds in these territories was done through the Medes in 600 nearly. As if to say that the old Gaulle should be the country of France today. The conquests follow.. my dear. You can not claim an empire 1400 years old later!
The Book of Salah Jmor, “The origin of the Kurdish issue” which talks about following are excerpts:
“After the defeat of the Ottoman army on the Caucasian front to Laigean in August 1916, the Russian army had invaded Kurdistan, the Caucasus to the Kurdish city of Khaneqin south of Kurdistan. The Kurdish cities of Bayezid, Alshkord Van, Ourmiye, Rawandiz, Penjwên and Khaneqin and provinces remained under Russian occupation until retirement of the Russian Army after the Bolshevik revolution of October 1917. The Russian army was led by divisions made up mostly Armenians familiar with the Kurdistan. But the Russian Armenians committed massacres against the Kurds of Bayezid, Van and Rawandiz allegedly in retaliation for the participation of Kurds in the Turkish massacre of Armenians by the government of the Young -Turks. The historian Amin Zeki estimated the total number of Kurds killed during the war over half a million people. ” (P. 54-55)
“The British government was also aware that the Kurds were victims of massacres committed by Armenian and Assyrian groups accompanying the Russian army in Kurdistan. However, the massacre of Muslim Kurds was not as impressed as the Allies massacre of Christian Armenians. ” (P. 103)
Obviously you just trying to smooth out your picture without thinking of your people has also committed massacres. Your people are not perfect, it’s hard for you to admit it but it’s true. Many Kurds have welcomed the Armenian orphans and raised them as their own children too. You just show the Kurds as executioners, but you, you deny all of it!
To return to the dish, if it is called kutlik it’s not a kutleh, it’s simple right?
A kutleh what is it? it’s just a kibbeh. Unless you call that a kutleh. And an Arab call it kibbeh.
What you can say that this is kibbeh Assyrian? What did he specific?
Chili? Ground beef? Bulgur …. lol
As long as you have learned to the whole Middle East to cook ..
My mother is not from the city she comes from a village where there are 0 Assyrians. Kurdish and descendants of Sheikh and controlling their region by several villages.
Sorry dear you have always been a minority in Amed (Diyarbekir).
The Assyrian empire fell in 612 and you told me about the World War, but excuse me at that time you were no one in Mesopotamia long time. No influence on anyone.
Before 1915, To 10,000 Kurds there were 7000 Armenians and 1500 Assyrians
http://www.belgeler.com/blg/p8b/arsiv-belgeleri-isiginda-diyarbakir-vilayetinde-1895-ermeni-olaylari-under-the-light-of-the-decoments-of-archieves-1895-armenian-events-in-diyarbakir-province
I speak little Turkish, but I quickly understood the tables and records are clear.
This is my last response because I like Joumana and want to respect Her blog.
Good night
On January 21, 2012 at 6:30 pm
Shamirahm says:
Hello again,
Well talking about showing true colors. From “I’m not aware of any Assyrian culture in my city and village” to giving history lessons about my own people, all be it a flawed history. Too bad you don’t give the name of your mother’s village, it would be interesting to know. But on your blog you are talking about Diyarbakir and that’s a city no one can deny it’s roots. The mayor isn’t even trying, it seems he wants to revive the old Amedia. He keeps inviting the Armenians and Assyrians to come back. And maybe you don’t like it but Assyrians have a presence in the Middle-East. We are the native people: why does that annoy you?
Some last remarks: I forget to say that semolina, bergul,pomegranate, figs and other produce don’t occur naturally. These are crops cultivated by humans and their wild ancestors are not edible for humans. But by carefully engineering they became the crops we now know. Also the process to turn wheat into semolina and bergul was invented by humans, that doesn’t come naturally. And why should we give credit to others when it were our ancestors who did this.
And koutleh are koutleh, like kibbeh is kibbeh. Different dough and different dish. You are very illogical, and maybe it is because of your English but kutlekk are kutlekk so they must be something else. Huh? Everyone with a clear mind understands that “kutlekk” is a bastardization of the Assyrian koutleh. I mean were you trying to be clever?
What happened between 1914-1922 with 1915 as the year of the great massacres of the Assyrians and Armenians by the Young Turks and their allied Kurdish tribes is well documented. The Assyrians were in 1917 in Iwardo a village nearby Midyat beeing besieged by the Turkish army and their Allied Kurdish friends. They had no time to massacre your people, the same goes for the Assyrians from Urmia and surroundings, at that time they undertook a desperate last attempt to reach by foot the Russian border to save themselves from the attacks by Kurds, Turks and Persians. To read the eyewitness accounts chills ones soul. But again one can read you’re post and understand that, you are talking as if I’m an Armenian which I’m not, and I’ve already told you that the Armenians retaliated against you because of what your people did to them in 1915.And it was eventually the Turks who killed muslim Kurds, remember Dersim?
The Armenian orphans that you’ve mentioned were not taken in lovingly by the Kurds. They were the spoils of war, their families killed and they were taken to be raised as muslims. Only now some of their children and grandchilderen dare to speak out and tell the world what happened to their Armenian mothers and grandmothers. Their plight was and is heartbreaking, and they deserve respect.
I know that Kurds consider themselves the ascendants of the Medes. There is just one problem with that theory and probably not a careful reading of history. The Medes(Mitanni) were conquered by my ancestors and consequently assimilated. We have pointed this out to Kurds but some still persist in believing this. Of course the Kurds need to tie themselves with an ancient people of the region in order to present themselves as native to the area. You’re native to Iran and Azerbedjan, but not to Iraq, Syria or South-East Turkey.
If the truth hurts , well I’m not sorry 🙂 Obviously this is a very emotional subject for you. And I don;t care if you react or not. I just found you dishonest trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the nice lady of this blog. “I don’t know of any Assyrian culture in my city or village” and then as by miracle turned around and gave flawed history lessons. Proving that you are very much aware of us. But I am happy that the nice lady of this blog now has more information about the origins and background of the delicious koutleh.
Greetings from Hollanda.
On January 22, 2012 at 3:59 am
assyrian says:
can you please remove the word (assyrian) from between the brackets or delete it. it is incorrect to relate assyrians to kurds. You may not know this but this is very offensive to Assyrians. Thank you.
On February 4, 2012 at 11:56 am
Joumana says:
@assyrian: I am not relating in any way Assyrians to Kurds; I initially posted this as a Kurdish recipe because it was given to me by a Kurdish lady who said that it was a traditional dish from her hometown of Mardin in Turkey. However, after receiving comments from Assyrians I was informed that this was an Assyrian dish.
On February 4, 2012 at 1:17 pm
Renee Sharou says:
Thank you everyone for clarifying the truth of our history . It is a fact that Kebbaibat is an assyrian aramaic dish . Not the kurds or the assyrians of iraq , that samir said about they cook in tomato sauce and flavor it with lemon thats what the kurds cook not our Kebbaibat.Thank you again ladies for defending our Haretige.
On October 31, 2012 at 8:39 pm
Dana says:
Hi Joumana!
I must say this receipt sounds delicious! Was wondering if it’s possible to make these in advance, and freeze them?
Thanks!
On July 4, 2013 at 10:02 am
Joumana says:
@Dana: I’d only freeze them for a few days, no more. Also, if you are planning to serve them in a couple of days, they keep very well in the fridge.
On July 4, 2013 at 12:25 pm
Adam says:
I think the Assyrians are happy they have ONE dish. Majority of everything else they make is not Assyrian. It is middle eastern / Arab. For example “Dolma” is known as ‘warak eneb’ Arabs all around the middle east have been making it for years.
tabouli, hummus, babaganooj, etc all Arab / Lebanese etc. Tho Assyrians still have a complex about being called “Arab” fair enough u were taken over a billion years ago, however where is this original culture other than ur ancient sounding language? U have basically inherited an Arab culture and look like Iraqis but still think your not Arab. You can be Christian, Muslim or whatever u like and still be an Arab. Sad story. Really
On August 7, 2013 at 12:22 am
SPM says:
Does somebody know the other boiled kibbeh that orginates in Diyarbakir? I can’t think of the name right now, it looks like a hockey puck and is no different than regular kibbeh, only they boil it. I am sorry but I have to mention that most people from that area differentiate themselves as being Siryani or Suryoyo and not Assyrian or Asouri.
On September 23, 2013 at 1:41 pm
Quyen says:
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iphone 4! Just wanted to say I love reading through your blog and
look forward to all your posts! Keep up the outstanding work!
On October 24, 2013 at 2:37 pm
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On October 26, 2013 at 10:34 pm
Ninveh says:
Joumana dear
Ask your Kurdish friend about a dish called “Kutel-dowke”
It is a very popular dish Assyrians and Kurds make in Duhok, it contains Kuttelk in a yogurt sauce called Dowk. Will remind you of Kibbet-Lebne
On November 18, 2013 at 8:23 pm
Joumana says:
@Ninveh: She did tell me about it; she said that the kuttelk are barely boiled and then dipped in a thinned-out yogurt sauce slightly thickened; sounds like kibbeh labnieh as you say!
On November 19, 2013 at 2:59 am
Ann says:
Dear Joumana,
If I freeze kibbeh should I defrost before frying or boiling or I can do it without prior defrosting.
Thank you
On February 3, 2015 at 6:49 pm
Joumana says:
@Ann: You can boil without prior defrosting. Just don’t freeze it too long! (I try not to get past 2 weeks of freezing)For frying, I would let it thaw out first to remove as much water as possible by laying them on paper towels.
On February 5, 2015 at 6:11 am
Rebecca says:
My family is Aramiac/Syriac from Midyat/Mido – Mardin provine, I grew up eating the Kibbeh and the Kutel, and by farthest the Kutel are my very favorite boiled and fried. I have been looking for this recipe since my Mom (who was a great cook) have pased away.
On February 24, 2015 at 11:38 pm
Joumana says:
@Rebecca: How interesting! Thanks for letting me know 🙂
On February 25, 2015 at 5:32 am
alia says:
Do you use fine or coarse semolina?
On July 24, 2017 at 11:15 am
Cris Freitas says:
I can write a book only with those comments hahaha
I nerver thought that in gastronomy there was that much fighting… And it is not only here, in my group on facebook it happens often. 😁😁
On September 11, 2019 at 8:21 am
Annie says:
I got annoyed and a little upset with the posts about history. This is about the semolina/bulgur kibbeh recipe.that is Seriously get a life, go argue separately in private messages. I don’t want to hear your stories.
On January 24, 2020 at 4:11 am
Alex says:
Annie, I think that you feel that way because you don’t understand our culture. Food, family, stories are all connected. Barak Allah Fiki.
On July 24, 2021 at 8:18 pm