Lahmeh bil Karaz

Aleppo·Medium·45 min active + 1 hour 15 min resting

Aleppo lamb-and-sour-cherries: ground lamb meatballs simmered in a sweet-sour cherry sauce made with sour cherries (or sour cherry concentrate), pomegranate molasses, and Aleppo pepper — the famous fruit-meat combination of Aleppo cuisine. Served over pita-and-rice with toasted pine nuts.

Lahmeh bil karaz (or 'lahma bil kerez') is the most-iconic Aleppo specialty — a fruit-meat dish that exemplifies the Aleppo culinary philosophy of combining sweet and sour with spiced meat. Sour cherries from the Aleppo region are essential; their tart-sweet flavor and ruby color define the dish. Sold at Aleppo's most-famous restaurants like Cordoba and made for special family gatherings.

Spoon up lahmeh bil karaz — ruby-red glossy sauce, ground lamb meatballs, whole sour cherries dotted throughout, pine nuts glittering on top. Bite: meatball is spiced and tender, cherry-pomegranate sauce is intensely sweet-sour, Aleppo pepper provides gentle warming heat. Each bite is layered — meat-fruit-spice trinity unique to Aleppo. Pita underneath catches the sauce; rice provides the neutral platform. The Aleppo signature.

Sour cherries provide natural pectin (thickening) + tartaric and malic acids (tang) + anthocyanins (red color). Pomegranate molasses adds layered acidity beyond just lemon-tart; it's deeper, more complex. Slow simmer in the cherry sauce allows the meatballs to absorb the fruit-flavor while the sauce coats them. Pre-browning prevents the meatballs from becoming pasty.

Variations

Whole lamb chunks instead of meatballs — uses lamb shoulder cubed and slow-cooked 90 min. Vegetarian version uses lentil or mushroom 'meatballs'. Modern restaurant version garnishes with edible flowers. Diaspora version uses tart cherry jam as substitute for fresh cherries.

On the Palate

Where Lahmeh bil Karaz sits in the Syrian flavor cloud

Ingredients

Serves 6

600 g groundLamb Shoulder

4 tbspPomegranate Molasses

1/2 tsp groundCinnamon

500 g pitted sourSour Cherry

How it's made

11 steps · 45 min active + 1 hour 15 min waiting

1
11 min
Make meatballs: combine 600 g ground lamb (80% lean) + 1 finely grated onion + 4 minced garlic cloves + 1 tsp salt + 1 tsp baharat + ½ tsp cinnamon + ½ tsp allspice + ½ tsp ground cloves + 2 tbsp breadcrumbs (optional, helps binding). Knead 3 min until well-mixed.
2
8 min
Form into 25-30 small meatballs (about 2.5 cm diameter).
3
7 min
Brown meatballs: heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a wide pan. Brown meatballs in batches 4 min total, turning. Don't fully cook.
Watch out
Brown the meatballs just to color the outside, 4 minutes tops — cook them through here and they turn pasty in the sauce; they finish in the cherry pot.
4
4 min
Make sour cherry sauce: in a heavy pot, combine 500 g pitted sour cherries (fresh, frozen, or jarred — drained if jarred) + 100 g sugar + 4 tbsp pomegranate molasses + 200 ml water + 1 tsp Aleppo pepper + ½ tsp salt + 1 cinnamon stick.
5
16 min
Simmer 15 min until the cherries soften and release their juices, and the sauce thickens to a glaze.
Watch out
Simmer the cherries down until they slump and the sauce coats a spoon like a glaze — too loose and it won't cling to the meatballs.
6
16 min
Add the meatballs to the cherry sauce. Simmer covered 15 min until meatballs are cooked through.
7
1 min
Taste; adjust pomegranate molasses (more for tang) or sugar (more for sweet). Should be sweet-tart-savory.
Watch out
Taste and pull it to sweet-tart-savory in balance — more pomegranate molasses if it's flat, a little sugar if it bites too sour.
8
4 min
Toast 30 g pine nuts in 1 tbsp ghee until golden.
9
3 min
Plate: place a piece of warm pita on a serving platter. Top with white rice. Spoon meatballs and cherry sauce generously over.
10
2 min
Garnish with toasted pine nuts and 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley.
11
1 min
Serve hot. The pita absorbs the sauce; eat with fork or spoon.