Kebab Karaz (Meatballs in Cherry Sauce)

            

    " Kebab Karaz " - An unusual tasty combination of Meatballs  cooked in Cherry sauce  is a dish originally from Aleppo, a city in Syria. Minced meat is marinated with a combination of spices, made to meatballs and shallow fried . Meatballs are then cooked in a sweet and tangy sauce of cherries and pomegranate molasses which gives a distinct flavor to the dish which any Middle Eastern food lover will adore. The dish is served with pita bread slices, topped with toasted pine nuts and fresh parsley leaves. I happened to taste this dish for the first time when we visited a restaurant in New York, called ILILI - a Lebanese Restaurant, couple of years back. We had a family, a close friends of us with us during the trip, who were equally or even more interested in exploring various cuisines.  Each of us ordered different dishes in the restaurant menu and the taste of everything we had there was incredible, Kebaba Karaz being one of them. Though I am not a huge fan of meatballs, I really loved this combo of meatballs and cherry sauce, which I had never come across so far. We really had some good time there, in NYC exploring various Korean , Lebanese, Chinese cuisines ,French Patisseries and of course some good Street Foods, which NYC is famous for.......Cherishing those memories and tried to recreate this dish which we had almost 2 years ago , the same day....!!!

Ingredients

1. Minced meat - 350 gms (lamb or beef / a combination of both)
2. Crushed ginger and garlic -1/2 tsp
3. Yellow onion chopped -2 tbsp
4. Pepper- 1/2 tsp
5. Cinnamon powder- 1/8 tsp
6. All spice -1/2 tsp
7. Cardamom powder -a pinch
8. cumin powder -1/4 tsp
9. Freshly chopped parsley - 1 tbsp
10. Salt - to taste
11. Cherry sauce - 6-7 tbsp (For recipe : - Cherry sauce)
12. Pomegranate molasses - 1 tbsp 
13. Lemon juice - 1 tsp
14. Olive oil
15. Butter
16. Pine nuts
17. Pita Bread
18. Fresh parsley

Method

1. Mix together ingredients numbered 1 to 10 well and keep in refrigerator for 2-3 hrs.
2. Make small lemon sized small meat balls.
3. Heat a pan .Add butter or oil and fry the meatballs till all sides are cooked and browned well.
4. Reduce the flame and dd the cherry sauce, pomegranate molasses (i didn't have pomegranate molasses so 1 substitute with 1/2 cup pomegranate juice) and allow to simmer.
5. Add a small pinch of cinnamon and lemon juice.
6. Let the sauce get well coated in the meat balls (about 10 minutes simmer in very low flame).
7. Meanwhile toast the pine nuts in olive oil till a nice aroma comes (golden brown).

Serving

• Cut the pita bread into medium shaped triangles,Heat it with little butter brushed on top and arrange on the outer side of a large plate.
• Pour the cherry kebab along with the sauce on the inner side of the plate
• Top it with toasted pine nuts and freshly chopped parsley leaves.
• Serve immediately

Notes

• For meat balls , you can use lamb, beef or a combo of both to your preference.
• For cherry sauce you can homemeade or storebought ones. (I used my cherry sauce . Grind them  to a smoother consistency to avoid larger chunks of cherries).
• Since I didn't have pomegranate molasses , I substituted with 1/2 cup of pomegranate juice.
• Don't avoid pine nuts as they give the real crunch to this dish.