Kebab Hindi - Lamb Meatballs, Vegetables and Rice

What is Syrian Kebab Hindi?

Over the years my Syrian grandmother has taught me how to make many of her best, favorite traditional Middle Eastern meals. Some of my favorites are stuffed cabbage, stuffed grape leaves, and stuffed peppers. I've taken all I've learned from her to create a tasty Middle Eastern beef stew that I know she'd love.

This authentic Kebab Hindi recipe is one of my favorite family Syrian meals. Lamb meatballs, tiny diced potatoes, and chopped carrots are simmered in a tomato and Middle Eastern pomegranate molasses sauce. Then the meatballs, vegetables, and sauce is poured over basmati rice that has been colored with a pinch of saffron. It makes a wonderful dinner with a side of authentic Middle Eastern hummus and pita chips.

You can also make this kebab hindi in a slow cooker. This is a great meal for large family gatherings and for holidays like Christmas and Easter. Making this recipe is a much anticipated Christmas Eve tradition.

Ingredients

To make kebab hindi you need:

• White basmati rice
• Saffron powder: make sure to use just a pinch! Saffron will quickly turn this perfect meal into a spicy dish if you use more than you need to give the basmati rice a beautiful yellow color. I dip 2 fingers in the saffron and rub them over the boiling water.
• Potatoes
• Carrots
• Tomato sauce
• Pomegranate molasses: a staple in Middle Eastern cooking. It's added to sauces as a mild sweetener and thickener. It's totally easy to make and lasts indefinitely. Pomegranate molasses enhances the sauce to a whole new level and is a very important ingredient here.
• Fresh lemon
• Lamb meatballs: ground lamb, allspice, pine nuts, salt

Instructions

1. Start with making the rice since you'll need to wait for the rice to boil. Follow the directions on the package. When adding the rice to the boiling water, add a dash of saffron to give it a brilliant yellow hue. But only add a pinch, otherwise it will turn spicy.
2. While waiting for the rice water to boil, peel and dice the carrots and potatoes. I chop them into very small pieces to shorten the cooking time.
3. Next make the kebab hindi sauce. Bring the tomato sauce, pomegranate molasses, lemon juice, salt and water to a boil. Add the carrots and potatoes and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.
4. While the veggies simmer in the sauce, combine the meatball ingredients and roll into mini lamb meatballs.
5. Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer for another 25 minutes. Gently shake the pot every so often so the meatballs sink to the bottom and the veggies don't stick. Some of the pine nuts may fall out of the meatballs at this point. Don't worry about that!
6. Remove the pot of sauce, meatballs, and veggies from the heat and let it rest for 10 minutes before serving. Drain the rice and set it aside. When the sauce is done resting, put together the full kebab hindi meal by topping the rice with sauce, meatballs, and veggies.

Storing

Kebab hindi keeps for about 1 week in the fridge, but the veggies, sauce, and lamb meatballs freeze exceptionally well for at least 6 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge.