Tiny pleated dumplings filled with spiced minced meat and pine nuts, baked until golden then gently simmered in a warm, stabilized yogurt sauce scented with garlic and dried mint. A cool-weather Lebanese classic.
Shish barak is an ancient Levantine dumpling—its earliest written recipe appears in a 15th-century Arabic cookbook (Kitab al-Tibakha), and its name derives from the Persian joshpara, linking it to a family of filled dumplings found across Central Asia and beyond. It settled into Lebanese kitchens as a beloved winter dish. Folding the dozens of thumb-sized parcels is a communal ritual, the dough pinched into little hats before being bathed in tangy yogurt. The dish comes from the Levantine love of cooking meat in laban, the silky yogurt sauce that defines a whole category of warming Lebanese stews.
Soft little dumplings burst with savory, cinnamon-warmed meat and the crunch of pine nuts, all cloaked in a tangy, velvety yogurt sauce. The sizzling garlic-mint finish lifts every spoonful with a bright, herbal punch.
Whisking starch and egg into the yogurt and heating it slowly with constant stirring prevents the proteins from seizing, giving a smooth sauce that simmers without splitting. Baking the dumplings first sets their shape and adds flavor so they hold together rather than dissolving in the hot laban.
Variations
Boiled-not-baked dumplings; with rice on the side; vegetarian filling; sumac or lemon-sharpened yogurt; smaller mante-style dumplings
On the Palate
Where Shish Barak Lebanese sits in the Lebanese flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6
How it's made
8 steps · 1 hour 15 min
- 145 min
Make a simple dough of flour, water, oil and salt; knead, then rest covered.
- 215 min
Brown onion, then cook ground meat with allspice, cinnamon and toasted pine nuts; cool the filling.
- 335 min
Roll the dough thin and cut small circles; place a little filling on each, fold into half-moons and pinch the ends together into rings.
Watch outPinch the folded edge and ring tight and dry — a loose or moist seam pops open in the hot laban and the filling escapes.
- 415 min
Bake the dumplings on a tray until lightly golden and firm.
- 510 min
Whisk yogurt with a little cornstarch and an egg, then heat slowly while stirring constantly so it will not curdle.
Watch outWhisk the starch and egg in cold, then heat while stirring in one direction the whole time — stop stirring and the yogurt seizes into grainy curds.
- 65 min
Stir in salt and let the yogurt come to a gentle simmer to thicken.
Watch outLet it barely tremble, never a rolling boil — a hard boil splits the yogurt and the smooth sauce breaks.
- 78 min
Add the baked dumplings and simmer briefly until heated through and tender.
- 85 min
Finish with garlic fried in butter with dried mint, poured sizzling over the top before serving.
Watch outBloom the garlic and mint in butter just to fragrant, then pour it sizzling — let the garlic brown and it turns bitter.
