Kibbeh (Baked and Fried)

Make the dough

1. Place the bulgur in a large bowl and pour the water on it. Cover and let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes so the bulgur absorbs the water.
2. Add the salt, pepper, paprika, dried mint and cumin to the bulgur and mix well.
3. Grate the onion and add it to the bulgur. Add the beef and knead well until fully combined. Refrigerate for one to two hours.

Make the filling

1. Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Saute onion until golden, about 10 minutes.
2. Add in ground beef, salt, pepper, allspice, and cinnamon. Brown the ground beef until cooked.
3. Stir in the pine nuts. Turn the heat off and set the filling aside.

To make Baked Kibbeh

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Divide the dough in half. Coat a 9x13 baking dish with non stick spray.
3. Spread half of the dough in the baking dish. Top with the filling. Spread the other half of the dough on top of the filling. Wet your hands with a bit of water so you can spread the dough easily.
4. Using a knife, cut the kibbeh to form diamonds as shown in the video.
5. Bake in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes until completely cooked.
6. Let the baked kibbeh cool for 10 minutes. Then slice and serve with yogurt sauce.

To make Fried Kibbeh

1. After the dough is chilled in the fridge, take it out and place it on the counter.
2. Divide the dough into pieces as big as an egg. Shape them into balls.
3. Using wet hands, take one of the dough balls and with your index finger, poke a hole into the ball. Rotate the ball so it shapes an empty cylinder with thin walls (as shown in the video).
4. Fill the ball with the filling, and using wet hands, bring the top together to seal it. It will look almost like a football.
5. If shaping the kibbeh as mentioned doesn't work for you, you can also flatten a dough ball in your hand, place a tablespoon of filling in the middle and then bring the kibbeh together on all sides using wet hands and shape it into a ball.
6. Repeat the steps until you run out of kibbeh dough.
7. Place all the prepares kibbeh on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Freeze for 30 minutes. This will help the kibbeh to stay together when frying.
8. Heat enough vegetable oil in a sauce pan to cover the kibbeh when deep frying. The oil should be hot enough that you see small bubbles. But it shouldn't be smoking or two hot otherwise the kibbeh will burn on the outside and raw on the inside.
9. Once the oil is hot, take the kibbeh balls out of the freezer and deep fry them in batches, moving them around gently to make sure they're fried on all sides.
10. Place them on a plate with paper towel to absorb the excess oil.
11. Serve warm or at room temperature with yogurt sauce.

Yogurt sauce

1. In a small bowl, mix yogurt with salt, minced garlic, and mint.
2. Serve with kibbeh.