Keddabat

Tartoussi cuisine is inconspicuous, even in Syria that is. Anyone who's been here will tell you that we make out of this world fish but I think seafood is great in all coastal cities around the world. Ignorance about our local entrées though does not necessarily mean that we don't have some of the yummiest dishes in Syria. It's more a testimony of our quiet nature, the writer of this blog not included. We're not loud like the Damascene. We're not vocal like the Aleppine. We are neither funny nor too self-conscious like the Homsis or the Hamwis respectively. We're simple folks who love Mezza, barbequed chicken and Arak. And when we want to be gluttonous we feast on Burghul.

Well just to be sure no reader takes this post as an indication of false modesty, no one in Syria, and I repeat no one, even comes close to our Wara Enab (Stuffed Grape Leaves) but that is another story which had already been proven and laid to rest.

Today's dish is called Keddabat and unless some of you prove me wrong it is a very local Tartoussi/Arwadi recipe unknown beyond Al-Thawra Street in Tartous.




Ingredients:

• Fine Burghul 2 cups (Cracked Wheat): sold in most Middle Eastern food stores

• All purpose flour 2 cups

• Olive oil ½ cup + 2 tablespoons to saute the onion

• Debes Remman ½ cup (Pomegranate Molasses): sold in most Middle Eastern food stores

• Swiss Chard a few chopped leaves (for stuffing the larger Keddabat)

• Onion 1 diced

• Garlic 4 cloves

• Parsley 2 tablespoons finely chopped after thorough washing

• Salt and black pepper to taste

Preparation:

• Wash the burghul under running water then keep in strainer for 15 minutes.

• In a blender crush the burghul until it becomes powdery.

• Mix the burghul and the flour and roll in semi-wet hands into small balls (see picture).

• For the larger Keddabat: Saute the diced onion in 2 tablespoons of olive oil until tender (don't let them turn golden in color). Chop the Swiss Chard after washing it thoroughly with water and add a dash of salt. Mix onions and Swiss Chard together and use it as stuffing for the larger Keddabat. It's not as difficult as it looks to make them and to stuff them. Just keep your hands a little wet and practice, practice, practice.

• In a bowl bring 6 cups of water to boil. Add the Keddabat (small and large: on the average for every 10 small unstuffed ones you should have one large stuffed one). Keep over medium high heat for 10 minutes then remove Keddabat and drain and put aside.

• Keep 4 cups of the boiled water (throw away the rest). Add ½ cup Debes Remman (Pomegranate Molasses), ½ cup olive oil, crushed garlic and some finely chopped parsley and stir well.

• Return the Keddabat to the sauce.

• Serve hot or cold. I eat it with a spoon like soup. Uuuummmm if you do it right you'll know what's the big deal about being a tartoussi :-)

And, ehem... the red sauce you see on top is Tabasco.