To Aleppo With Love – Aqras Na’ana’a
September 30th, 2015
Aqras Na’ana’a is Aleppine dish that consists of minced meat seasoned with dried mint and spices, then grilled and served with lemon-garlic sauce. Na’ana’a means mint.
Let’s make Aqras Na’ana’a:
1, 2, 3. Finely chop red onion.
4. Measure 75 grams finely chopped red onion, and set aside.
5. Put fat free ground lamb meat in a bowl.
6. Measure 75 grams ice cubes.
7, 8. Transfer ground lamb meat to a food processor.
9. Run your food processor for few times.
10, 11. Keep food processor running, and add ice cubes.
13. Processing ground meat with ice cubes will form a paste, this paste is called “Habra”.
14. Transfer habra into a bowl.
15. Add 75 grams finely chopped red onion to habra.
16. To habra and onion, add 1 3/4 teaspoons dried mint, 1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper, 1/2 teaspoon al-bhar al-halabi (bhar al-daqqa al-halabi), and 1 1/4 teaspoons salt.
17, 18, 19, 20. With your hands mix all the ingredients together until well combined.
21. Bring a plate and slightly grease it with olive oil, and set aside.
22. Put olive oil in a bowl.
23. Dip your hand in olive oil.
23. Take a piece of meat mixture and form into a ball.
25. Each ball equals to 25 grams.
26, 27, 28, 29. Flatten the ball into Aqras “discs”, each disc is 7 mm thick.
30. Put the discs in the plate which was greased with olive oil.
Traditionally Aqras Na’ana’a are grilled on charcoal grill, but I fried them.
31. In a pan, heat olive oil (for each batch I used 2 tablespoons olive oil).
33, 34, 35, 36, 37. In batches, shallow fry the discs on each side until brown and cooked inside.
38. Transfer fried discs into a plate.
39. In a small bowl, put corn oil.
40. Put the bowl of corn oil inside the dish of fried discs.
41, 42, 43, 44, 45. Bring coal and burn it on stove till red.
46. Use a tong to hold the coal, and put the coal in the bowl of corn oil.
47. Coal will produce smoke.
48. Immediately cover the dish with aluminum foil and keep it covered for some time. This step will give meat discs taste similar to the taste you get from grilling them on charcoal grill. Then discard the oil and the coal.
49. Prepare lemon-garlic sauce by mixing 1/4 cup olive oil, 4 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 teaspoon crushed garlic, and a pinch of salt.
50, 51, 52. Add lemon-garlic sauce to the Aqras Na’ana’a, and serve.
Traditionally Aqras Na’ana’a are served with lemon-garlic sauce, but you may serve it as sandwiches.
54. Bring finger roll, and fill with Aqras Na’anaa’ (without lemon-garlic sauce).
55, 56, 57, 58. Fill with tomato slices, cucumber pickles, mint leaves, and French fries.
59, 60. Serve sandwiches.
61. Serve Aqras Na’ana’a hot or cold with lemon-garlic sauce and Arabic flat bread. Also, you may serve it as sandwiches as described before.
Aqras Na’ana’a
From: Chef Mohammad Orfali / Servings: 4 People
PDF Text Only / Print With Images
| 75 g finely chopped red onion
500 g fat free ground lamb meat 75 g ice cubes 1 3/4 tsp dried mint 1/2 tsp ground Aleppo pepper 1/2 tsp al-bhar al-halabi 1 1/4 tsp salt Olive oil, for frying Lemon-Garlic Sauce 1/4 cup olive oil 4 tbsp lemon juice 1 tsp crushed garlic Pinch of salt Sandwiches Finger rolls Tomato slices Mint leaves French fries To Serve Arabic flat bread
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Finely chop red onion. Measure 75 grams finely chopped red onion, and set aside. Put fat free ground lamb meat in a bowl. Measure 75 grams ice cubes. Transfer ground lamb meat to a food processor. Run your food processor for few times. Keep food processor running, and add ice cubes. Processing ground meat with ice cubes will form a paste, this paste is called “Habra”. Transfer habra into a bowl. Add 75 grams finely chopped red onion to habra. To habra and onion, add 1 3/4 teaspoons dried mint, 1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper, 1/2 teaspoon al-bhar al-halabi (bhar al-daqqa al-halabi), and 1 1/4 teaspoons salt. With your hands mix all the ingredients together until well combined. Bring a plate and slightly grease it with olive oil, and set aside. Put olive oil in a bowl. Dip your hand in olive oil. Take a piece of meat mixture and form into a ball. Each ball equals to 25 grams. Flatten the ball into Aqras “discs”, each disc is 7 mm thick. Put the discs in the plate which was greased with olive oil. Traditionally Aqras Na’ana’a are grilled on charcoal grill, but I fried them. In a pan, heat olive oil (for each batch I used 2 tablespoons olive oil ). In batches, shallow fry the discs on each side until brown and cooked inside. Transfer fried discs into a plate. In a small bowl, put corn oil. Put the bowl of corn oil inside the dish of fried discs. Bring coal and burn it on stove till red. Use a tong to hold the coal, and put the coal in the bowl of corn oil. Coal will produce smoke. Immediately cover the dish with aluminum foil and keep it covered for some time. This step will give meat discs taste similar to the taste you get from grilling them on charcoal grill. Then discard the oil and the coal. Prepare lemon-garlic sauce by mixing 1/4 cup olive oil, 4 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 teaspoon crushed garlic, and a pinch of salt. Add lemon-garlic sauce to the Aqras Na’ana’a, and serve. Traditionally Aqras Na’ana’a are served with lemon-garlic sauce, but you may serve it as sandwiches. Bring finger roll, and fill with Aqras Na’ana’a (without sauce). Fill with tomato slices, cucumber pickles, mint leaves, and French fries. Serve sandwiches. Serve Aqras Na’ana’a hot or cold with lemon-garlic sauce and Arabic flat bread. Also, you may serve it as sandwiches as described before. |
Notes and Tips
Here is a photo of ground Aleppo pepper, and click here to know more about it.
Click here for the recipe of Al-Bhar Al-Halabi.
hum ! sandwich avec côtelettes, j’aime bien !
You always make all the of the food I grew up eating, it looks excellent, my mother used to make this for me all the time.
SPM: Thank you so much for your kind words.