Shish Barak Recipe

 shish barak Recipe

Shish Barak (شيش برك) is a traditional Levantine dish popular in Lebanese, Syrian, and Palestinian cuisine. It consists of small meat-filled dumplings cooked in a warm garlicky yogurt sauce. It's comforting, creamy, tangy, and full of flavor—like Middle Eastern tortellini in yogurt!

Cook Time40minutes mins

Total Time1hour hr 40minutes mins

Courseentree, Main, Soup

Servings4

Ingredients

Shish Barak Dough

• 3 ⅓ cups flour
• ⅔ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ cups water
• ⅙ teaspoon yeast
• ⅓ cup water warm
• ⅛ teaspoon sugar

Meat Stuffing

• ⅔ lb ground beef lean
• ⅔ teaspoon Lebanese 7 spices
• ⅓ teaspoon salt
• 1 ⅓ red onions small, finely chopped
• ⅙ cup pine nuts
• ⅔ tbsp Olive Oil

Shish Barak Stew

• 1 ⅓ lb Labneh or strained yogurt
• 8 cups water
• 1 ⅓ cloves garlic crushed
• ⅔ tablespoon mint powder
• ⅓ teaspoon cilantro leaves dried
• ⅔ lemon juiced
• ⅓ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Meat Stuffing Preparation

1. Finely chop then sauté the onions with a bit of olive oil until they start turning translucent
2. Add the ground beef, 7-spices, salt, mix well and then sauté on medium heat for 5 minutes or until the beef is cooked
3. A couple of minutes before the meat is cooked, mix in the pine nuts and cook for a couple more minutes then let rest and cool down.

Dough Preparation

1. Mix the yeast in half a cup of warm water with a bit of sugar. Let rest for a few minutes.
2. Mix and knead the dough ingredients along with the yeast liquid in a bowl, cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
3. Place dough on a kitchen counter dusted with flour, and flatten with a dough roller into a large sheet the thickness of 2 coins (1/8th of an inch).
4. Using a water bottle lid (or small cookie cutter), cut the dough into disks the size of a quarter (3/4th of an inch in diameter)

Making the Dumplings

1. Holding a dough disk flat with one hand, add 1/2 teaspoon of stuffing in the center.
2. Fold and close dough sides over the stuffing into a half moon shape. Then pull edges around and flatten the circumference to make it all look like a “hat”.
3. The idea here is to lock the stuffing properly and well inside of the dough. If you know of other methods or have some ravioli making tools, be creative.
4. Line up all the dumplings on a flour dusted plate

Shish Barak Cooking Method 1: With a Labneh Base

1. Pour 12 cups of water and 2 lb of labneh (strained yogurt) in a cooking pot, mix well until all Labneh is dissolved, then place on stove over medium-low heat and keep on stirring gently until it reaches a boil, at which time you turn the heat to low.
2. Mix in 2 crushed cloves of garlic.
3. Mix in the dried mint powder and dried cilantro leaves.
4. Add 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon of salt (to taste).
5. Add juice from 1 freshly squeezed lemon. If you’re using goat yogurt you can skip this step.
6. Gently add the Shish Barak dumplings, bring the stew to a boil again, and then let simmer for 15-20 minutes on low heat while gently but constantly stirring.
7. Serve hot as a soup

Cooking Method 2: With Greek Yogurt

1. Repeat the above steps but using 10 cups of plain yogurt with 2 cups of water instead of using Labneh. Be mindful that if using yogurt you need to stir very well for proper assimilation.

Shish Barak – Nutrition Facts (Per Serving, 1 of 4)

Nutrient	Amount (approx.)
Calories	480–550 kcal
Protein	23–28 g
Total Fat	25–30 g
Saturated Fat	10 g
Carbohydrates	35–40 g
Sugars	6–8 g
Fiber	1–2 g
Cholesterol	90–110 mg
Sodium	400–600 mg
Calcium	200–250 mg
Iron	3–4 mg

Shish Barak – Notes

• Seal well: Make sure dumplings are sealed tightly to prevent breaking in yogurt.
• Garlic-mint topping is essential—don’t skip it for that signature flavor.
• Stir yogurt gently and in one direction to avoid curdling.
• Pre-baking dumplings helps them hold shape and adds flavor.
• Freezer-friendly: Dumplings can be frozen before cooking.
•  Use full-fat yogurt for best taste and texture.
• Serve with rice or enjoy on its own as a main dish.