Koubba Helwa

Name: Koubba Helwa (Minced Meat Dumplings in a Sauce)
Cuisine: Iranian
Ingredients: 500 g (1 lb) lean minced beef; Flour; 500 g (1 lb) semolina; Salt; Salt and pepper; Salt and pepper; 2 dried limes (noumi basra); 1 large onion, grated; 500 g (1 lb) courgettes, thinly sliced; or 500 g (1 lb) tender young okra; Salt and pepper to taste; Salt and pepper to taste; 2 cloves garlic, crushed; 90 g (3 oz) tomato concentrate; 1 large onion, chopped; 2 tablespoons oil; 3 tablespoons chopped parsley or coriander leaves; Juice of ½ lemon, or more; A few celery leaves; 3 tablespoons chopped parsley or coriander leaves

Minced Meat Dumplings in a Sauce

Preparation info

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

A New Book of Middle Eastern Food

By Claudia Roden

Published 1986

About

This Iraqi speciality is part of the kibbeh family. It takes quite some time to make but it is very good.

Ingredients

Shell

Salt
500 g (1 lb) semolina
Flour

Asia
Iran
Main course
Southeast Asia

Method

To make the shell stir ½ teaspoon salt into the semolina and moisten with just enough cold water to make a paste, working it in your hands until it is doughy and elastic.

For the filling, mix the minced beef with the onion, salted first and allowed to disgorge its juice in a sieve, and dried