Kubbeh with ground rice

[Swisskaese]

Today at my company cafeteria they served kubbeh made out of ground rice and stuffed with meat. It was delicious. The rice crust was creamy on the inside.

What is this called and does anyone have a recipe?

I have eaten many different types of kubbeh. I had never heard of this one before.

[Shaya]

Was it definitely ground rice on the outside? My grandmother makes them with a semolina paste, and they are creamy and cooked in the stew (with beets, okra, zucchini, whatever...) but I haven't heard of the rice version.

Edited October 26, 2006 by Shaya (log)

[Swisskaese]

Was it definitely ground rice on the outside?  My grandmother makes them with a semolina paste, and they are creamy and cooked in the stew (with beets, okra, zucchini, whatever...) but I haven't heard of the rice version.

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I asked the chef and he said it was made with rice. I also saw bits of rice on the outside. These were not served in a sauce. They looked like they had been baked. They were round, about two inches in diameter and about one inch in height.

I just found out they are Iraqi and/or Kurdish. Now I need to find a recipe.

Edited October 26, 2006 by Swisskaese (log)

[Shaya]

I just spoke with my grandmother, my Iraqi food expert. She calls them "Erouk b'Roz"

Basically a shell is made with rice and meat, and it is wrapped around a filling. This is then simmered in a broth, removed, cooled and pan-fried.

I've found a more detailed recipe in one of my cookbooks, and I will forward it on to you by PM.

Edited October 26, 2006 by Shaya (log)

[Shaya]

I also found two more contenders, Kubbat Halab, in which the rice is mashed or ground, and Kubba Helwa, in which the rice is ground.

I will send you all versions and you can choose.

[scubadoo97]

Claudia Roden has mentioned them in her book, The Book of Jewish foods.

From a Syrian/Jewish heritage I know these as kibbeh hamda. These are made with cream of rice or ground rice and very lean meat for the shell. The insides is a little meatball made with a more fatty meat mixed with celery leaves and spices. This kibbeh is often cooked in a sour sauce called hamud. They can also be baked along side a roast chicken or pot roast. I have asked my Arab friends about these kibbeh and they no idea what I'm talking about. I think Claudia mentions that they are a Jewish/Arab dish from Iraq.

[Swisskaese]

The kubbeh that I had did not have meat in the rice mixture.

[scubadoo97]

Michelle, how were they cooked?

Edited October 27, 2006 by scubadoo97 (log)

[Swisskaese]

Michelle, how were they cooked?

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They were not cooked in a broth. I think they were baked.

[scubadoo97]

Yeah, I was wondering if they were fried or baked. Assume they would fall apart in broth unless they were first cooked to harden them up a bit.

A bit of research reveals that Kubbat Halab mentioned by Shaya is indeed made with a rice shell and filled with meat. Kibbeh can be very diverse and unique to a region or even a religion it seems. The larger fried kibbeh that we make has a shell made from bulgur and flour and stuffed with meat. I only see this made by Mizrahi Jews as far as I can tell.

May be the company cafeteria can give you some detail or maybe a recipe for these kebbeh

[Hassouni]

Many years later....

There are only two kubba that spring to mind as being made out of rice. The first, as Scubadoo says, is Kubbat Halab (Aleppo Kubba), which, despite the name, is a uniquely Iraqi dish, made by Arabs if not others as well. Instead of the shell being made from burghul, it's made from pounded rice and I suppose turmeric, and then deep fried. The shell should be a deep golden yellow color, and quite crispy.

The other, also mentioned above, is a spherical kubba called kubbat hamudh (sour kubba), also made by Arabs. In Baghdadi Arab cuisine at least, these are usually served in a very hearty soup called Shorbat Hamudh Shalgham (Sour Turnip Soup), which also contains chick peas and swiss chard. I'm not sure what the shell is made out of, but the soup itself is thickened with soaked and pounded rice.