Kibbeh (, also kubba and other spellings; ar, كبة, kibba; tr, içli köfte) is a family of dishes based on spiced ground meat, onions, and grain, popular in

Middle Eastern cuisine Middle Eastern cuisine or West Asian cuisine includes Arab, Armenian, Assyrian, Azerbaijani, Cypriot, Egyptian, Georgian, Iranian, Iraqi, Israeli, Kurdish, Lebanese, Palestinian and Turkish cuisines. Common ingredients include olives and ol ...

. In

Levantine cuisine Levantine cuisine is the traditional cuisine of the Levant. Perhaps the most distinctive aspect of Levantine cuisine is ''meze'' including ''tabbouleh'', ''hummus'' and ''baba ghanoush''. Levantine dishes * Arabic coffee (قهوة عر ...

, kibbeh is usually made by pounding

bulgur wheat Bulgur (from tr, bulgur, itself from fa, بلغور, bolġur (bolghur)/balġur (balghur), groats ), also riffoth (from biblical he, ריפות, riffoth) and burghul (from ar, برغل, burġul ), is a cracked wheat dish found ...

together with meat into a fine paste and forming it into balls with toasted pine nuts and spices. It may also be layered and cooked on a tray, deep-fried, grilled, or served raw. In

Mesopotamian cuisine Iraqi cuisine (Arabic language, Arabic: المطبخ العراقي Kurdish languages, Kurdish: خواردنی عێراقی) or Mesopotamian cuisine is a Middle Eastern cuisine that has its origins from Sumerians, Akkadian Empire, Akkadians, Baby ...

, versions with rice or farina are found. Some recipes add

semolina Semolina is coarsely milled durum wheat mainly used in making couscous, and sweet puddings. The term semolina is also used to designate coarse millings of other varieties of wheat, and sometimes other grains (such as rice or corn) as well. Etymo ...

. Kibbeh is considered to be a

national dish A national dish is a culinary dish that is strongly associated with a particular country. A dish can be considered a national dish for a variety of reasons: * It is a staple food, made from a selection of locally available foodstuffs that can be ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

and

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, and is a popular dish in the

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...

. Versions are found in Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Iraq, Iran, the Persian Gulf, Armenia, and Turkey, and among Assyrian people. It is also found throughout

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

n countries that received substantial numbers of immigrants from the

during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as parts of North America.

Etymology

The words ''kibbeh'' and ''kubba'' come from the Arabic verb , meaning "to form into a ball," and is thus cognate with "

kebab Kebab (, ; ar, كباب, link=no, Latn, ar, kabāb, ; tr, kebap, link=no, ) or kabob (North American) is a type of cooked meat dish that originates from cuisines of the Middle East. Many variants of the category are popular around the wor ...

Variations

Near East

, a variety of dishes made with bulgur (cracked wheat) and minced lamb are called ''kibbeh''.

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

is famous for having more than 17 different types. These include ''kibbeh'' prepared with sumac (''kibbe sumāqiyye''),

yogurt Yogurt (; , from tr, yoğurt, also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial Fermentation (food), fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as ''yogurt cultures''. Fermentation of sugars in t ...

(''kibbe labaniyye''),

quince The quince (; ''Cydonia oblonga'') is the sole member of the genus ''Cydonia'' in the Malinae subtribe (which also contains apples and pears, among other fruits) of the Rosaceae family (biology), family. It is a deciduous tree that bears hard ...

(''kibbe safarjaliyye''), lemon juice (''kibbe ḥāmḍa''), pomegranate sauce,

cherry A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The nam ...

sauce, and other varieties, such as the "disk" ''kibbeh'' (''kibbe arāṣ''), the "plate" ''kibbeh'' (''kibbe biṣfīḥa'' or ''kibbe bṣēniyye'') and the raw ''kibbeh'' ('' kibbeh nayyeh''). Kibbeh_Nayyeh

'' Kibbeh nayyeh'' is a raw dish made from a mixture of bulgur, very finely minced lamb or beef similar to steak tartare, and Middle Eastern spices, served on a platter, frequently as part of a ''

meze Meze or mezza (, ) is a selection of small dishes served as appetizers in the Levant, Turkey, Greece, the Balkans, the Caucasus and Iran. It is similar to Spanish tapas and Italian antipasti. A mezze may be served as a part of a multi-course me ...

'' in

and

, garnished with mint leaves and olive oil, and served with green onions or scallions, green hot peppers, and

pita Pita ( or ) or pitta (British English), is a family of yeast-leavened round flatbreads baked from wheat flour, common in the Mediterranean, Middle East, and neighboring areas. It includes the widely known version with an interior pocket, als ...

/pocket bread or ''

markouk Markook bread ( ar, خبز مرقوق, khubz marqūq), also known as ''khubz ruqaq'' ( ar, رقاق), ''shrak'' ( ar, شراك), ''khubz rqeeq'' ( ar, رقيق), ''mashrooh'' ( ar, مشروح), and saj bread ( ar, خبز صاج), is a kind of Mid ...

'' bread. Because '' kibbeh nayyeh'' is raw, it requires high-quality meat to prepare and has been seen as a traditional way to honor guests. ''Kubba Mosul'' from Iraq is flat and round like a disc. ''Kubba halab'' is an Iraqi version of kibbeh created with a rice crust and named after the largest city in Syria,

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

. ''Kubbat Shorba'' is an Iraqi and

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

version prepared as a stew, commonly made with turnips and chard in a tomato-based stew. It is often served with ''arak'' and various salads. A Syrian soup known as ''kubbi kishk'' consists of ''kubbi'' "torpedoes" or "footballs" in a yogurt (''kishk'') and butter broth with stewed cabbage leaves. Another soup, known as ''kibbeh hamda'', consists of chicken stock with vegetables (usually leeks, celery, turnips and courgettes), lemon juice and garlic, with small ''kibbeh'' made with ground rice as dumplings. In the Syrian Jewish diaspora this is popular both at

Pesach Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holiday that celebrates the The Exodus, Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month of Aviv, or ...

and as the pre-fast meal on the day before

Yom Kippur Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day's ...

South America

On Colombia's Caribbean coast, the most local variations of the dish use ground beef instead of lamb, but the original recipe, or one with mixture of beef and lamb, can be found served by the large Middle Eastern population of the zone. The dish has acquired almost vernacular presence and is frequently served in social occasions at both Arab and non-Arab households. When served as an adopted local dish, it is offered often as a starter along with other regional delicacies, including

empanada An empanada is a type of baked or fried turnover consisting of pastry and filling, common in Spanish, other Southern European, Latin American, and Iberian-influenced cultures around the world. The name comes from the Spanish (to bread, i.e., ...

s, deditos and carimañolas. Brazilian , is sometimes stuffed with '' catupiry'' or '' requeijão'', a sauce resembling ricotta and cream cheese of Portuguese origin. Most Brazilian ''kibbeh'' uses only ground beef, and not other types of meat. Other variations include tahini, ( texturized soy protein), (Japanese wheat gluten-based meat substitute) or tofu (soybean curd) as stuffing. Some regional Jewish cuisines combine ''kibbeh'' with elements taken from Latin American cuisine, for example, it is typical of

Syrian Jews Syrian Jews ( he, יהודי סוריה ''Yehudey Surya'', ar, الْيَهُود السُّورِيُّون ''al-Yahūd as-Sūriyyūn'', colloquially called SYs in the United States) are Jews who lived in the region of the modern state of Syri ...

in Mexico to eat the traditional kibbeh with

salsa verde Salsa verde () is a type of spicy, green sauce in Mexican cuisine based on tomatillo and green chili peppers. The tomatillo-based Mexican ''salsa verde'' dates to the Aztec Empire, as documented by the Spanish physician Francisco Hernández, a ...

References

{{Cuisine of Turkey Appetizers Arab cuisine Armenian cuisine Assyrian cuisine Cypriot cuisine Egyptian cuisine Iranian cuisine Iraqi cuisine Israeli cuisine Jordanian cuisine Kurdish cuisine Lebanese cuisine Levantine cuisine Palestinian cuisine Syrian cuisine Stuffed dishes National dishes Street food Deep fried foods Semolina dishes Meat dishes Bulgur dishes Colombian cuisine Turkish cuisine Brazilian cuisine Mizrahi Jewish cuisine Wheat dishes Fried foods Middle Eastern cuisine ku:Kutilk