Lebanese recipe for kibbeh in a garlicky yoghurt sauce
Take some casing and roll into golf ball size, indent the middle then hollow out the inside with your index finger turning as you do so until you have a half shell. Add a spoon of filling and close up the casing. Compress well with your hands and shape into classic kibbeh shape
Soak the rice in water for about 20 minutes
Rinse the rice under the tap until the water runs clear. Then add the rice to 1.5 cups of boiling water and simmer until cooked (approx 20 minutes)
Add the cornflour and salt to the yoghurt, stir well then press through a fine sieve over the rice
Raise the heat to a medium high and keep stirring so the bottom doesn’t burn, bring to the boil then lower the heat and keep on a low simmer
Meanwhile, put around ten kibbeh balls into an oven at 180 °C fan and half cook them for about 15 minutes so the outside just turns slightly golden but not well done
Add the kibbeh to the yoghurt sauce and keep simmering for another ten minutes
In a separate small pan, sauté the garlic and coriander in the butter for a few minutes then add to the yoghurt sauce along with a pinch of dried mint, stir well and adjust the salt if necessary before turning off the heat
Serve either hot or cold
You can either deep fry these kibbeh balls in vegetable oil for an appetizer or freeze the extra ones until next time.
You can omit the rice in the yoghurt sauce if you don't like it too thick.