Learn about Moti's Recipes...

If you're trying an Iraqi kubbe recipe, you're really becoming Iraqi. This is my granddaughter's favorite dish (#2 is Mac-n-cheese).

Fill a large pot with water and the dissolved tomato paste. Bring to a boil and add some spices to taste (at least 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and several green cardamom pods, as well s salt and pepper). Reduce to a medium heat.

Meanwhile, in a large pan sauté the onions, parsley, and ground meat (beef, chicken or turkey is fine). You'll want to add at least a few teaspoons of cinnamon, as that is the principal flavor in the kubbe basal recipe, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until the meat is browned and cooked through, and let it cool slightly before working with it further.

The kubbe's outer shell is made with fine semolina and water. Add enough water to the semolina until you can work with it as a pliable dough (see picture Step 1). Flatten out a circle of about 3 inches in diameter, and place a large spoonful of the ground meat mixture in the center (Step 2). Now, this is important—dip your hands in water. With wet hands, fold over the sides to form a closed ball, smoothing the ball and any holes.

Shown above, the kubbe recipe triathalon. It takes practice, so don't be discouraged, and remember that your wet hands are the key to working with semolina dough!

Drop the kubbe into the tomato soup. Repeat until you have made 8–10 kubbe. Allow them to cook on a medium heat for about thirty minutes.

You can enjoy kubbe basal in its cardamom-tomato soup. Or, for a change, you can serve the kubbe pan-fried.

Vegetarian
Tip

Instead of using ground meat in this kubbe recipe, scramble 2 fried eggs, mix with sautéd onions and parsley, along with the spices. It will be harder to work with this mixture and make a satisfactory kubbe ball, but with sufficient practice it will be sooo good!