Kebbet Raheb

Kebbet Raheb means monk's kebbeh and it is Lentil lemony soup with vegetarian kebbeh dumplings or rolls made from a special dough.

This dish is made mostly on Good Friday. Also it is prepared in another method, stuffed vegetarian kebbeh balls with spinach or swiss chard which I will represent in another post.

Kebbet Raheb takes me always back when I used to watch my mom kneading the dough with her hands and rolling the dumplings with the palm of her hands one after another. I remember when I was young I couldn't wait to sit and eat this amazing dish especially with the lemony garlic aroma all over our kitchen.

Prep. time: 45 mins

Cooking time: 30 mins

Serves: 6

INGREDIENTS FOR THE DUMPLINGS:

1 cup fine burghul or cracked wheat

1 cup of flour

1 small onion minced or chopped finely

2 tbsp chopped parsley

1 tsp dried mint

1 tsp of salt

1/2 tsp allspice

.INGREDIENTS FOR THE SOUP:

1 cup of lentils

8 cups water

1 heaped tsp. of salt

3 crushed garlic gloves

2 tbsp of olive oil

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 tsp sumac if desired

An addition to the recipe:

2 cups fresh or frozen spinach

3/4 cup cooked chickpeas

1 small onion sautéed with olive oil

PREPARATION: wash the burghul, strain well then set aside for 20 mins. In the meantime clean the lentils from any visible debris, wash and put them in a pot with water over medium heat. Let it boil for 3 mins. then strain, finally add 8 cups of boiled or hot water and put back over medium heat. Now in a mixing bowl put the burghul, the flour, the minced onion, the parsley, the dried mint, one tsp. salt and the allspice. Knead well all the ingredients with your hands adding 3 to 4 tbsp. of water until you have a dough. it shouldn't be very soft or else It will give you a hard time to work with it.

HOW TO MAKE THE ROLLS: Prepare a small bowl of water aside. Moisten the palm of your hand then roll a small log and start cutting with your fingers and rolling In your palm until you have rolls the size of a small marble as shown in the pictures.

Place them on a floured tray so they won't stick together. When the lentils are cooked for 5 mins Add the dumplings gently in the cooking pot and let it simmer for 15 mins. (If you like to add the spinach, the chickpeas and the sautéed onion, it should be added after 5 mins from dropping the dumplings). Add the crushed garlic (you can stir fry the garlic with a bit of olive oil if you desire) the lemon juice, the olive oil and sumac if available and keep it for another few mins. The sumac will give it a distinguishing and special lemony flavor. Give it a try with the extra nutritious ingredients and the whole family will love it.

Kebbet Raheb is a healthy and delicious soup dish especially in fall and winter, serve it hot and enjoy!!