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Gabout
Gabout (قبوط): Kuwaiti flour dumplings stuffed with spiced meat and chickpeas, simmered in tomato stew
Gabout is old Kuwaiti home cooking, the kind grandmothers in Kuwait City still make for family lunches in winter, and a close relative of the Iraqi dumplings brought along the trading routes of the Gulf. Soft flour dough is wrapped around spiced lamb or beef mince with chickpeas, and the dumplings are simmered in a sour tomato and dried-lime stew until they are tender and plump. It is filling and comforting, eaten with bread or on its own. The mistake people make is rolling the dough too thick, which makes the dumplings heavy and doughy. Chef's tip: wet your fingers when sealing, the dough must close tightly or the filling leaks into the stew.
- Total time
- 120 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 5
Ingredients
For the dough
- 14 oz plain flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 cup warm water
For the filling
- 14 oz lamb or beef mince
- 1 onionfinely chopped
- 7 oz cooked chickpeasroughly crushed
- 2 tsp baharat
- 1 tsp salt
For the stew
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onionchopped
- 3 garlic clovescrushed
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 3 tomatoesgrated
- 2 dried black limespierced
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 6 ¼ cups water
- 1 ½ tsp salt
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Mix 14 oz plain flour, 1 tsp salt, 2 tbsp vegetable oil and 1 cup warm water into a soft dough. Knead for 5 minutes until smooth, cover and rest for 30 minutes.
35 minStep 2: Fry 14 oz lamb or beef mince and 1 onion in a dry pan, breaking up the meat, until browned and cooked through to 160°F with no pink left. Stir in 7 oz cooked chickpeas, 2 tsp baharat and 1 tsp salt and cool.
12 minStep 3: For the stew, heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a wide pot, fry 1 onion until soft, then add 3 garlic cloves, ½ tsp ground turmeric and 3 tbsp tomato paste and stir for 2 minutes.
10 minStep 4: Add 3 tomatoes, 2 dried black limes, 6 ¼ cups water and 1 ½ tsp salt and bring to a simmer while you shape the dumplings.
10 minStep 5: Divide the dough into 20 pieces. Flatten each into a 9 cm circle about 3 mm thick, put a spoonful of filling in the middle, gather the edges up and pinch tightly shut, then roll into a ball.
Step 6: Lower the dumplings into the simmering stew. Cover and cook gently, shaking the pot now and then rather than stirring, until the dough is tender and no longer floury when you cut one open.
30 minStep 7: Leave to rest for 5 minutes so the sauce thickens, then serve in bowls.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 560 kcal
- Protein
- 26 g
- Carbs
- 72 g
- Fat
- 18 g
- Fibre
- 5 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does gabout take?
- About 120 minutes in total: 50 minutes to prepare and 70 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 5 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
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