Kibbeh
Kibbeh is a popular dish in the Arab world and the Levant in particular, made of spiced lean ground meat and bulgur wheat. Kibbeh is considered to be a national dish of Lebanon and Syria.
The modern word kibbeh (كبة) is derived from the Arabic root k-b-b (ك-ب-ب). The use of kubbeh to designate stuffed food may have also been derived from the Akkadian language kubbu. The 10th century cookbook by Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq referred to meatballs as kubab (singular kubba).
As noted by food historian Nawal Nasrallah, the earliest mention of modern kibbeh, made with a filled shell of ground meat and grains, is in the 18th century work Taj al-'Arus min Jawahir al-Qamus. The text describes it as a disk of ground meat and rice flour made by the people of "al-Sham" (the Levant). American Methodist missionary William McClure Thomson noted in his memoirs during his 1847 visit to Lebanon that kibbeh, then made by crushing wheat in mortar and pestle, was very popular. He described it as "the national dish of the Arabs", despite its association with the Levant. Swedish Orientalist Jacob Berggren [sv] described 8 types of kibbeh in his 1844 dictionary, and also mentioned a proverb about its social importance: "[...], without our koubbé, we would all have died". The 1885 Beirut cookbook Ustadh al-Tabbakhin by author Khalil Khattar Sarkis [ar] provided 15 kibbeh recipes, including recipes for kibbeh labaniyyeh, kiyyeh bil siniyyeh, kibbeh mashwiyyeh, among others. The Comparative Encyclopedia of Aleppo by Syrian author Khayr al-Din al-Asadi (completed in 1971, published posthumously in 1981) described 58 different kinds of kibbeh.
Levant
Kibbeh nayyeh is a raw dish made from a mixture of bulgur, very finely minced lamb or beef similar to steak tartare, and Levantine spices, served on a platter, frequently as part of a meze in Lebanon and Syria, garnished with mint leaves and olive oil, and served with green onions or scallions, green hot peppers, and pita or markouk bread. Because kibbeh nayyeh is raw, it requires high-quality meat to prepare and has been seen as a traditional way to honor guests. Kibbeh labaniyeh (Arabic: كبة لبنية) is a variant of kibbeh cooked in a yoghurt sauce and served over rice. It is popular in Lebanon and Syria. kibbeh mishwiyyeh (Arabic: كبة مشوية) is kibbeh that is grilled rather than fried.
Iraq
Kubba Mosul from Iraq is flat and round like a disc, named after the city of Mosul. Kubba Halab is an Iraqi version of kibbeh created with a rice and potato crust and named after the largest city in Syria, Aleppo. Kubbat shorba is an Iraqi and Kurdish version prepared as a stew, commonly made with turnips and chard in a tomato-based stew. It is often served with arak and various salads. Among Kurdish Jews, there is a kubba soup flavored with aromatic thyme leaves during winter.
Israel
When Jews fled Iraq in the 1940s, 90 percent went to Israel, bringing traditional dishes with them. As a result, kubbeh is now a strong part of Israeli cuisine. Sometimes it is fried, and sometimes it is cooked in a soup.
Turkey
In Turkey, kibbeh is called içli köfte. The outside shell can be made without or with tomato paste in different recipes. Several variants of içli köfte are protected as geographical indications by the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office:
Egypt
In Egypt, kibbeh is referred to as kobeba (Egyptian Arabic: كبيبة). Seafood variations of kobeba exist, such as shrimp kobeba, popular in Port Said.
Latin America
Brazilian quibe is sometimes stuffed with Catupiry or another variety of requeijão, a sauce resembling ricotta and cream cheese. Most Brazilian quibe uses only ground beef, but other variations use tahini, carne de soja (texturized soy protein), seitan (Japanese wheat gluten-based meat substitute) or tofu (soybean curd) as stuffing. In the Brazilian state of Acre, a variation of quibe called quibe de arroz (rice kibbeh) is made with a rice flour breading. It was created by Arab immigrants to Brazil who had no access to wheat in the remote Amazon region of Brazil. On Colombia's Caribbean coast, most local variations of the dish use ground beef instead of lamb, but the original recipe, or one with a mixture of beef and lamb, can be found served by the large Lebanese and Syrian population of the area. The dish has acquired almost vernacular presence and is frequently served in social occasions at both Arab and non-Arab households. When served as an adopted local dish, it is offered often as a starter along with other regional specialties, including empanadas, deditos and carimañolas.
Kibbeh is considered by many to be a difficult dish to prepare, and as such, the quality of kibbeh is considered to be a benchmark for the skill of a cook in Iraq and the Levant. Numerous mentions of kibbeh can be found in Aleppo Arabic folk proverbs.
