Pumpkin soup with Patties

בס"ד

Koo-beh is an oval meat-filled grain patty cooked in soup or water.

I used to buy them frozen and didn't much like it.

I tried to make it for the first time, and it came out so well.

The Koobeh I've made is filled with minced lamb meat and coated with semolina mixture.

I saw the recipe in a cookbook named "ahsteedek," which means in Arabic, "bless your hands."

The patties are very easy to make, and with the sweet pumpkin, it is just divine.

Ingredients:

For the soup:

500 grams (17.6 oz.) pumpkin, diced

3 Tbsp. oil

Onion, diced

2 Tbsp. tomato paste

1 Tbsp. paprika

3 cups boiling water

salt to taste

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/4 cup lemon juice

3 Tbsp. sugar or another sweetener

2 Tbsp. raisins (I didn't use)

For the filling:

250-gram (8.8 oz.) ground beef/ lamb

Onion, diced

1 tsp. chopped parsley

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. oil

For the coating:

1 cup semolina

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. oil

about 1/3 cup of water

Preparation:

Start preparing the soup:

heat oil in a pot and fry the onion until golden.

Add the pumpkin and tomato paste, season with paprika, and cook for couple more minutes.

Add the water, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and sugar, and mix.

Cook on a low heat for about 15-20 minutes.

If using the raisins, add at the last minute.

Prepare the coating:

Mix together the semolina, salt, and oil. Gradually add the water, just until you get a unified mixture and not a bit runny.

Set aside for about 15 minutes and prepare the filling:

Mix all of the filling ingredients and set aside.

After 15 minutes, the coating will be like a grainy and soft dough.

With wet hands, take a bit of the dough, shape into a ball and flatten in on the palm of your hand.

Fill with the meat mixture and close it into a smooth ball again.

Continue like this until the semolina mixture ends.

Add the patties to the soup and continue cooking on low heat for about 15-20 minutes. Mix gently.

In the end, it didn't come out much like a soup, but it was extremely delicious. If you want it to be soup, just add more water and taste to see if the extra seasoning is needed.