From the grill & main dishes · The home kitchen
Kibbeh Be Laban
Kibbeh in warm yogurt sauce combines a tender bulgur-and-beef shell with a savory meat filling. Garlic and dried mint perfume the sauce, which needs gentle heat and patient stirring at the beginning. Making a small batch by hand takes time, but the individual dumplings turn a few everyday ingredients into a distinctive meal. This is a home-style interpretation of the menu idea, with measured ingredients and a method suited to an ordinary kitchen. It is not Beiruty’s proprietary restaurant formula. Read the complete method before starting, measure the ingredients first, and use the texture and temperature cues alongside the clock. The external guide offers another cook’s perspective; its seasoning and presentation may differ from this version.
A home-style recipe inspired by our menu. Restaurant preparation, portions and ingredients may differ.
Make it at home
Kibbeh Be Laban recipe
- Serves
- 4
- Prep
- 60 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Rest / chill
- 30 min
- Total
- 130 min
Ingredients
- 150 g fine bulgur
- 250 g very lean ground beef for shell
- 1 small onion, quartered for shell
- 1/2 tsp ground allspice for shell
- 3/4 tsp fine salt, divided
- 150 g ground beef for filling
- 1 small onion, finely diced for filling
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 20 g pine nuts
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 750 g plain full-fat yogurt
- 300 ml low-sodium vegetable stock
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
- 1 tsp dried mint
Method
Put bulgur in a bowl, cover with cold water and soak for 10 minutes. Drain in a fine sieve and squeeze very dry. Process shell onion finely, then add bulgur, 250 g lean beef, allspice and 1/4 tsp salt. Process until a cohesive paste forms, scraping down as needed. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
For filling, heat oil in a skillet. Cook diced onion for 5 minutes. Add filling beef and break it up, cooking to 160°F/71°C. Stir in pine nuts, cinnamon and 1/4 tsp salt. Cool until easy to handle.
With wet hands divide shell mixture into 12 portions. Form each into a hollow oval, add about 1 tbsp cooled filling, and pinch completely closed. Smooth cracks with damp fingers. Keep chilled while preparing sauce.
Whisk yogurt, stock, cornstarch and remaining 1/4 tsp salt in a wide saucepan until smooth. Heat gradually over medium-low, whisking continuously, until steaming and just beginning to bubble. Reduce to low; avoid a hard boil.
Lower kibbeh into sauce in a single layer. Cook at a very gentle simmer for 20–25 minutes, occasionally nudging the pan rather than stirring vigorously, until the beef shell reaches 160°F/71°C. Add garlic and mint for the last 5 minutes.
Serve three kibbeh per bowl with plenty of yogurt sauce. If sauce thickens excessively, loosen it with 1–2 tbsp hot water.
Make it your own.
- Fine bulgur is important; coarse bulgur will not form a smooth shell.
- Close every opening so filling stays inside during simmering.
- Check a central dumpling with a thin thermometer and maintain a gentle simmer to protect the yogurt.