Description
Lebanese Arayes are pita bread stuffed with spiced ground meat, grilled until crispy, making a deliciously juicy, charred street food.
Ingredients
Scale
- 4 Lebanese thin pita breads
- 500g lean ground lamb or beef
- 1 medium onion, finely grated
- 1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses (optional)
- 1 teaspoon Lebanese 7-spice
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon sumac
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon chili flakes (optional)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (for brushing)
Instructions
- Make the kafta filling by combining the ground meat, squeezed grated onion, parsley, tomato paste, pomegranate molasses, all spices and salt in a bowl. Mix with your hands for 1–2 minutes until uniform.
- Stuff the pitas by cutting each in half and filling with about 80–100g of the mixture, pressing it evenly inside.
- Brush both outer sides of each stuffed pita lightly with olive oil.
- Grill or pan-fry over medium-high heat for 4–5 minutes per side until golden and the meat is cooked through.
- Rest for 2 minutes off the heat, then cut each arayes into wedges and serve immediately.
Notes
Squeeze the onion to remove excess liquid before mixing. Ensure the pan is hot before cooking to achieve a crispy exterior.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 10
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Grilling
- Cuisine: Lebanese
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 400
- Sugar: 3g
- Sodium: 600mg
- Fat: 20g
- Saturated Fat: 6g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 35g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 25g
- Cholesterol: 70mg