Shish Barak (Lebanese Meat Dumplings in Warm Garlic Yogurt Sauce)

Instructions

1. Mix the flour and salt in a bowl. Add the olive oil and enough lukewarm water to make a firm dough. Knead for 8 minutes until smooth, cover and rest for 30 minutes.
2. For the filling, cook the onion in the olive oil over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the beef and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, breaking it up, until browned and no pink remains.
3. Stir in the pine nuts, salt, seven-spice mix, cinnamon and pepper, cook for 1 minute, then cool completely.
4. Heat the oven to 220°C (425°F) and oil two baking sheets. Roll the dough out very thin, about 2 mm (1/16 in), and cut 6 cm (2 1/2 in) rounds.
5. Put 1 level teaspoon of filling in the middle of each round, fold into a half moon and press the edge to seal. Wrap the two corners around your finger and pinch them together to make a little hat.
6. Bake the dumplings in one layer for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden. The filling should reach 71°C (160°F).
7. Whisk the yogurt, cornstarch mixture, salt and cold water in a heavy pot. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly in one direction, until it just starts to bubble. Simmer on low heat for 10 minutes.
8. Fry the garlic in 1 tbsp olive oil for 1 minute, add the cilantro for 30 seconds, then stir both into the sauce with the dried mint.
9. Add the baked dumplings to the sauce and simmer gently for 5 to 8 minutes, until they soften. Serve hot, with rice if you like.

Tips

• Keep the yogurt from splitting by whisking in the cornstarch first, stirring in one direction and never boiling it hard. Full-fat yogurt is the most stable.
• Baking the dumplings first keeps them from falling apart in the sauce. You can freeze the baked dumplings on a tray, bag them once solid and add them to the hot sauce without thawing, simmering for 10 minutes.