kibbeh

{{Short description|Arab and Levantine dish of ground meat and bulgur}}

{{Infobox food

| name = Kibbeh

| image = Kibbeh3.jpg

| image_size = 230px

| caption = Fried kibbeh raas (nabulsi kibbeh)

| country = Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Armenia, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Turkey

| region = Levant, Mesopotamia, Caucasus, East Mediterranean

| course = Meze

| served = Hot (or raw as Kibbeh nayyeh)

| main_ingredient = Finely ground meat, cracked wheat (bulgur), and Levantine spices

}}

Kibbeh ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|ɪ|b|i}}, also kubba and other spellings; {{langx|ar|كبة|kibba}}; {{langx|arz|كبيبة|kobeba}}) is a popular dish in the Arab world and the Levant in particular based on spiced lean ground meat and bulgur wheat. Kibbeh is considered to be a national dish of Lebanon and Syria.{{Cite web|date=2011-09-13|title=Top 10 National Dishes -- National Geographic|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/top-10/national-food-dishes/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161014060413/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/top-10/national-food-dishes/|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 14, 2016|access-date=2020-08-08|website=Travel|language=en}}George, Maria. Mediterranean Cuisine: Flavors for a Healthier You, Christian Faith Publishing, Inc. 2019, Page 301{{cite book|first1=Gil|last1=Marks|title=Encyclopedia of Jewish Food|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gFK_yx7Ps7cC&pg=PT954|publisher=HMH|date=17 November 2010|isbn=978-0-544-18631-6|via=Google Books}}{{Cite book |last=Perry |first=Charles |authorlink=Charles Perry (food writer) |editor-last=Davidson |editor-first=Alan |year=2014 |title=The Oxford Companion to Food |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bIIeBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA444 |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0191040726 |pages=244, 444–445}}{{cite book|first1=Sally|last1=Howell|title=Arab Detroit: From Margin to Mainstream|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5cw3WKvVt4MC&pg=PA530|publisher=Wayne State University Press|year=2000 |isbn=9780814328125|via=Google Books}}{{cite book|first1=Anissa|last1=Helou|title=Feast: Food of the Islamic World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z6dvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT245|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|date=4 October 2018|isbn=9781526605566|via=Google Books}}

In Levantine cuisine, kibbeh is made by pounding bulgur wheat together with meat into a fine paste and forming it into ovoid shapes, with toasted pine nuts and spices. It may also be layered and cooked on a tray, deep-fried, grilled, or served raw.{{Citation|last=Perry|first=Charles PerryCharles|editor1-first=Tom|editor1-last=Jaine|title=kibbeh|date=2006|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780192806819.001.0001/acref-9780192806819-e-1327|work=The Oxford Companion to Food|publisher=Oxford University Press|language=en|doi=10.1093/acref/9780192806819.001.0001|isbn=978-0-19-280681-9|access-date=2021-02-11|url-access=subscription}} The Syrian city of Aleppo can lay claim to at least 17 types of kibbeh.{{Cite web |last=Khalaf |first=Hala |date=2018-08-09 |title=A guide to kibbeh |url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/lifestyle/food/a-guide-to-kibbeh-1.758435 |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=The National |language=en}} In Mesopotamian cuisine, versions with rice or farina are found.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HlKBpvoVq-QC&pg=PA361 |isbn=978-1-4391-5753-4 |page=361 |author=Annia Ciezadlo |year=2012 |title=Day of Honey: A Memoir of Food, Love, and War|publisher=Simon and Schuster }}

Outside of Syria, versions are found in Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Palestine, the Persian Gulf, Armenia, and Turkey, and among Assyrian people.{{cite book|title=Food, Cuisine, and Cultural Competency for Culinary, Hospitality, and Nutrition Professionals|first=Sari|last=Edelstein|year= 2010| isbn= 9781449618117| page =594|publisher=Jones & Bartlett Publishers|quote=}} It is also found throughout Latin American countries that received substantial numbers of immigrants from the Levant during the late 19th and early 20th centuries,{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_eP7DwAAQBAJ&q=kibbeh+latin+american&pg=PA11|title = Meatballs: The Ultimate Cookbook|isbn = 9781646430147|last1 = Brown|first1 = Ellen|date = 6 October 2020| publisher=Simon and Schuster }} as well as parts of North America.{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18547399|title=Kibbe at the Crossroads: A Lebanese Kitchen Story|website=npr.org|access-date=13 November 2017}}

Etymology

The word kibbeh first appeared in ancient biblical text, meaning "tent" or "tarp". Later on the word took on a new meaning in Aramaic as kababa, which means "a covering".{{Cite web |last=hersh |date=2023-09-19 |title=Kubbeh, Kibbeh and Kebabs: What's In A Name? |url=https://aish.com/kubbeh-kibbeh-and-kebabs-whats-in-a-name/ |access-date=2023-11-24 |website=Aish.com |language=en-US}}

Variations

= Levant =

In Levantine cuisine, a variety of dishes made with bulgur (cracked wheat) and minced lamb are called kibbeh. Aleppo is famous for having more than 17 different types.{{cite web | title = NPR web: Food Lovers Discover The Joys Of Aleppo|website = NPR| url = https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122058669}} These include kibbeh prepared with sumac (kibbe sumāqiyye), yogurt (kibbe labaniyye), quince (kibbe safarjaliyye), lemon juice (kibbe ḥāmḍa), pomegranate sauce, cherry 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).{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

File:Kibbeh_Nayyeh.jpg

Kibbeh nayyeh is a raw dish made from a mixture of bulgur, very finely minced lamb or beef similar to steak tartare, and Levantine spices, served on a platter, frequently as part of a meze in Lebanon and Syria, garnished with mint leaves and olive oil, and served with green onions or scallions, green hot peppers, and pita/pocket bread or markouk bread. Because kibbeh nayyeh is raw, it requires high-quality meat to prepare and has been seen as a traditional way to honor guests.

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.{{cite book |first=Claudia |last=Roden |date=March 1974 |title=A Book of Middle Eastern Food |publisher=Random House - Vintage Books |pages=232–233 |isbn=0-394-71948-4 |oclc=622578 |via=Internet Archive |url=https://archive.org/details/bookofmiddleeast00rode/page/232/mode/1up?q=%22kibbeh+hamda%22 }} In the Syrian Jewish diaspora this is popular both at Pesach and as the pre-fast meal on the day before Yom Kippur.{{cite book|author=Poopa Dweck|title=Aromas of Aleppo|publisher=Harper Collins|year=2011|isbn=9780062042644|page=97}}

=Iraq=

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. Kubbat Shorba is an Iraqi and Kurdish 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.{{cite news |title=An Iraqi-Kurdish-Israeli Dumpling Soup Makes Its Way To America |website=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/08/10/541456723/an-iraqi-kurdish-israeli-dumpling-soup-makes-its-way-to-america}}

Among Kurdish Jews, there is a kubba soup flavored with aromatic thyme leaves soup during winter time.[https://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3507657,00.html אדוני רוצה עוד קובה? הצצה למטבח הכורדי]

= Latin America =

== Brazil ==

File:Quibe_frito.JPGBrazilian {{lang|pt|quibe/kibe}}, is sometimes stuffed with catupiry or requeijão, a sauce resembling ricotta and cream cheese. Most Brazilian {{lang|pt|quibe}} uses only ground beef, but other variations use tahini, {{lang|pt|carne de soja}} (texturized soy protein), {{lang|pt|seitan}} (Japanese wheat gluten-based meat substitute) or tofu (soybean curd) as stuffing.{{Cite web |date=2022-07-19 |title=Lebanese Brazilian Food: Fried Kibbeh |url=https://texasdebrazil.com/food-beverage/lebanese-brazilian-food-fried-kibbeh/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220813163357/https://texasdebrazil.com/food-beverage/lebanese-brazilian-food-fried-kibbeh/ |archive-date=2022-08-13 |publisher=Texas de Brazil}}

In the Brazilian state of Acre, a variation of {{lang|pt|quibe}} called {{lang|pt|quibe de arroz}} (Rice kibbeh) is made with a rice flour breading. It was created by Arab immigrants to Brazil who didn't have access to wheat in the remote Amazon region of Brazil.{{Cite news |last=Menezes |first=Gabrielli |date=2021-06-14 |title=Culinária do Acre esbanja identidade e orgulho em cada prato; conheça |trans-title=Acre's cuisine exudes identity and pride in every dish; get to know it |url=https://www.uol.com.br/nossa/noticias/redacao/2021/06/14/culinaria-do-acre-esbanja-identidade-e-orgulho-em-cada-prato-conheca.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614071737/https://www.uol.com.br/nossa/noticias/redacao/2021/06/14/culinaria-do-acre-esbanja-identidade-e-orgulho-em-cada-prato-conheca.htm |archive-date=2021-06-14 |access-date=2024-02-20 |work=UOL |language=pt-BR}}

== Colombia ==

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 Lebanese and Syrian population of the zone.Hourani, Albert. The Lebanese and the World A Century of Emigration, University of Virginia, 1992, Page 365 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 empanadas, deditos and carimañolas.{{Cite book|title=Musical imagiNation : U.S.-Colombian identity and the Latin music boom|author=Cepeda, María Elena|isbn=9780814772904|oclc=967261642}}

== Dominican Republic ==

The Dominican version was brought to the Dominican Republic by Lebanese immigrants.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lxjOEAAAQBAJ&dq=kibbeh+dominican+republic&pg=PA279|title=Food and Drink in American History: A "Full Course" Encyclopedia [3 Volumes]|isbn=978-1-61069-233-5 |last1=Smith |first1=Andrew F. |date=28 October 2013 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA }}

== Mexico ==

Some regional Syrian cuisine and Lebanese cuisines combine kibbeh with elements taken from Latin American cuisine, for example, it is typical of Syrian Mexicans in Mexico to eat the traditional kibbeh with salsa verde.{{cite book|last1=Ayora-Diaz|first1=Steffan Igor|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4Fl-DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA181|title=Taste, Politics, and Identities in Mexican Food|date=7 February 2019|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-1-350-06668-7|via=Google Books}}