20 replies to this topic

[Chufi]

I've been having a craving lately for something I read about, somewhere (probably here on eG! ): a plate of hummus, topped with a mixture of spicy ground meat, pinenuts and fried onions.
I've been a-googling and I find mentions of this dish, but it does not seem to be a traditional dish? or is it? Which country, and does it have a name other than "hummus topped with meat"?
I've been seasoning the meat with all-spice, cumin, coriander and chiliflakes. Does anyone know of a good recipe for this dish? any other pointers?

Thanks!

[SusanGiff]

I don't have a recipe, but there's a Lebanese restaurant in my town that makes this kind of dish with ground lamb. Very tasty. Maybe you could start searching Lebanese cuisine?

[Beebs]

I've got some hummus in the fridge that can use a bit of pepping-up - this sounds intriguing! I googled "hummus with meat" and got this recipe. Is this what you're looking for?

[Beebs]

Oh hang on... whoops, this one has meat only, no pinenuts or onions.

[dls]

I've been having a craving lately for something I read about, somewhere (probably here on eG!  ): a plate of hummus, topped with a mixture of spicy ground meat, pinenuts and fried onions.
I've been a-googling and I find mentions of this dish, but it does not seem to be a traditional dish? or is it? Which country, and does it have a name other than "hummus topped with meat"?
I've been seasoning the meat with all-spice, cumin, coriander and chiliflakes. Does anyone know of a good recipe for this dish? any other pointers?

Thanks!

Chufi - I believe you are referring to Hummus bil Awarma (meat). It's essentially as you describe it. Hummus topped with spiced meat (typically ground or cubed lamb), lightly toasted pine nuts, and sauteed onions. As I recall reading somewhere, Awarma was originally a method of preserving lamb in its fat by Lebanese mountain dwellers for the winter. Sort of a lamb confit.

Can't help you with the spice ingredients. Looks like you have a good start, though.

[Chufi]

I've got some hummus in the fridge that can use a bit of pepping-up - this sounds intriguing!  I googled "hummus with meat" and got this recipe.  Is this what you're looking for?

from your link, and googling some more, I gather that the Lebanese name for this dish is Hummus bi Lahmi or Lahma. (I'm guessing Lahmi/Lahma is lebanese for meat?)

[Chufi]

Lahmi/Lahma or Awarma?

[FoodMan]

Lahmi/Lahma or Awarma? 

Lahmi/Lahma = meat
Awarma = basically a confit of minced lamb meat. The lamb is minced and cooked in it's own fat and heavily spiced. The lamb used for this is the one found in Lebanon, the one with a fat tail (liya). This is a traditional pantry item for Lebanese homes to go through a cold winter.

So, a Hummus with Awarma is a bit different than with Lahma. I'd say the one you had was more than likely the latter of the two.

For the dish you are talking about here's what I do. I brown some ground lamb (traditional) or beef in some olive oil until crispy. I heat up a good helping of butter or Samen (ghee) till light brown and add in some pinenuts. Swirl them around until nice a golden brown. Sprinkle the meat on top of the hummus and top with the butter/pinenut mixture.

I typically do not season the meat with anything more than salt and pepper, but you can season it to your taste.

[Chufi]

Elie, I was hoping you would add your wisdom here!

Just to be clear, I never had this dish, I just read about it somewhere and it sounded good so I made my own version.
I made it again yesterday, seasoning the beef with allspice, chiliflakes and cumin. When it was cooked I tasted it and felt it needed something. I added a big pat of butter, thinking I was doing something VERY wrong so it's good to read your recipe, with butter and all! The butter rounded out the flavors nicely, especially since I was using pretty lean beef.

It was a great dinner together with some homemade griddle flatbread to scoop up hummus and meat.

[markemorse]

Elie, I was hoping you would add your wisdom here!

Just to be clear, I never had this dish, I just read about it somewhere and it sounded good so I made my own version.
I made it again yesterday, seasoning the beef with allspice, chiliflakes and cumin. When it was cooked I tasted it and felt it needed something. I added a big pat of butter, thinking I was doing something VERY wrong    so it's good to read your recipe, with butter and all! The butter rounded out the flavors nicely,  especially since I was using pretty lean beef.

It was a great dinner together with some homemade griddle flatbread to scoop up hummus and meat.

I enjoyed adding my salad to it as well, to create a more shwarma-y option for every third bite or so. it was great!

[ChefCrash]

Another variation is a Hummus plate with a mound of Shawarma meat on top. Served in most Shawarma joints.

You can do this at home by sauteeing Lamb shoulder (cut into strips). Season with Curry powder*, cumin, salt and pepper.

*Curry powder contains many of the seasonings used in Shawarma.

[Daniel Rogov]

Common throughout Israel and depending on where you wander, the meat varies depending on the local population.

In the Druse restaurants on the Golan Heights the meat is primarily ground lamb, that sauteed together with onions, the pine nuts toasted and added separately

In the Wadi Asnas area of Haifa, where most of the humous joints are owned by Christian Arabs the topping is often of lamb shawarma (and in the more tourist oriented places turkey shawarma)

In the Bedouin shuk in Be'er Sheva the meat used is often beef, that seasoned much as one would shawarma

In the Jewish side of the Be'er Sheva shuk the meat is ground lamb seasoned heavily with cumin and anise.

Moving into the Palestinian cities of Schem, the main meat used is beef; in Jericho a treat often with ground wild partridge or pigeon meat.



As is said, the Lord and humous wander in strange and wondrous manners

[lapin d'or]

There is a recipe on page 25 of Paula Wolfert's The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean. She spices the ground lamb with black pepper, cinnamon and salt and then the dish is garnished with ground allspice. The onions and pine nuts are browned in butter.

[sazji]

In a similar vein, I've seen a recipe for hummus topped with quickly fried pastırma in a cookbook of foods from the Adana / Çukurova region of S. Turkey. It was quite good. I have never seen it with kavurma (awarma is the Levantine pronunciation of that word by the way < kavurmak, to fry/sautee) but it also sounds like a winner! I know what I'm going to be doing when I get back to Istanbul in a few weeks....

[Pam R]

Not quite the same, but I had an amazing dish prepared by a couple of Israeli chefs last year. Warm hummus topped with braised beef cheeks and a rich sauce that had hits of ras el hanout . Not recommended for a light summer meal, but as a winter dish it was fabulous.

[JTravel]

In a similar vein, I've seen a recipe for hummus topped with quickly fried pastırma in a cookbook of foods from the Adana / Çukurova region of S. Turkey. It was quite good.

We had this two nights in a row from a famous kebap restaurant in Istanbul. It was so good when we ate there one night we ordered in the next night. Crispy bits of the pastirma on top of the best hummus I'd ever had.
I love the pine nuts and onions idea too and I think finely chopped beef or lamb cooked till crispy would be tasty with the spices mentioned.

[marlena spieler]

when i haven't been on egullet for awhile, then i come back and see a posting like this, i wonder why i've been away so long! daniel, what a wonderful tour of the humous and meaty plates that now i'm utterly dying to eat! right this minute!

marlena

Common throughout Israel and depending on where you wander, the meat varies depending on the local population.

In the Druse restaurants on the Golan Heights the meat is primarily ground lamb, that sauteed together with onions, the pine nuts toasted and added separately

In the Wadi Asnas area of Haifa, where most of the humous joints are owned by Christian Arabs the topping is often of lamb shawarma (and in the more tourist oriented places turkey shawarma)

In the Bedouin shuk in Be'er Sheva the meat used is often beef, that seasoned much as one would shawarma

In the Jewish side of the Be'er Sheva shuk the meat is ground lamb seasoned heavily with cumin and anise.

Moving into the Palestinian cities of Schem, the main meat used is beef; in Jericho a treat often with ground wild partridge or pigeon meat.



As is said, the Lord and humous wander in strange and wondrous manners

[rizworld]

In a similar vein, I've seen a recipe for hummus topped with quickly fried pastırma in a cookbook of foods from the Adana / Çukurova region of S. Turkey. It was quite good.

We had this two nights in a row from a famous kebap restaurant in Istanbul. It was so good when we ate there one night we ordered in the next night. Crispy bits of the pastirma on top of the best hummus I'd ever had.
I love the pine nuts and onions idea too and I think finely chopped beef or lamb cooked till crispy would be tasty with the spices mentioned.

Hi, I have have also has this in Istanbul (but more of a traditional turkish restaurant). I am turkish cypriot but had never came accross this before. When I came back to my home in London and ask all my turkish friends nobody has any idear what I was talking about.

Do you remmber where you had this? I am going back to Istanbul for the weekend and world LOVE to get some.

[melamed]

Here is my homemade version of humus with ground meat, fried onions, pine nuts and flavoured with a bit of baharat.

[scubadoo97]

Sarah it looks wonderful.

I've made this a few times and it's great together.

[melamed]

Sarah it looks wonderful.

I've made this a few times and it's great together.

thanks! that's the way it is made at a local restaurant run by bedouins as well as another lebanese place farther south (baharat or cinnamon spiced). I think in most places it would be made with beef but perhaps a bit of sheepfat is mixed in for flavour. I use olive oil. It is very good.