← Nouns Cooking · Lebanese & Turkish

Ingredients

• 250 g plain flour
• ½ tsp Salt
• 150 ml warm water
• 1 tsp Olive oil
• 1 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 250 g lean beef or lamb mince
• 30 g Pine nuts
• ½ tsp Allspice
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp Salt
• 1 kg plain whole-milk yogurt
• 250 ml cold water
• 2 tbsp Cornflour (cornstarch), mixed with 4 tbsp cold water
• 1 tsp Salt
• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• 4 cloves Garlic, crushed
• 15 g Coriander (cilantro), finely chopped
• 1 tsp Dried mint

Method

1. Mix the flour, salt, warm water and oil and knead for 5 min into a smooth, firm dough. Cover and rest for 30 min.
2. For the filling, heat the oil over medium heat and soften the onion for 5 min. Add the mince and cook for 6–8 min until browned, then stir in the pine nuts, spices and salt. Cool completely.
3. Heat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Roll the dough out very thinly (about 2 mm) and cut 5 cm rounds. Put ½ tsp filling on each, fold into a half-moon and pinch shut, then wrap the two corners around your fingertip and press together to make a little hat.
4. Arrange the dumplings on an oiled tray and bake for 10–12 min until firm and lightly golden.
5. In a large pot, whisk the yogurt, cold water, cornflour mixture and salt until smooth. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly in one direction, for 10–15 min until it comes to a gentle simmer and thickens slightly. Constant stirring keeps it from splitting.
6. Add the dumplings and simmer gently for 8–10 min until the dough is tender.
7. Heat the oil in a small pan and sizzle the garlic and coriander for 1 minute, then stir in the mint. Pour into the pot and serve hot with vermicelli rice.

Tips

• Baked dumplings freeze beautifully; cook them straight from frozen in the yogurt sauce.
• Never stop stirring until the yogurt boils, or it will curdle.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Maureen Abood Mama's Lebanese Kitchen Falasteeni Foodie