Cheat’s Shishbarak (Pasta in Yogurt)
A clever shortcut to a Levantine favorite: instead of hand-folded dumplings, short pasta is simmered in a stabilized yogurt sauce scented with dried mint, layered with spiced ground meat, and finished with a fragrant garlic-and-coriander tagliya. Same cozy flavor, a fraction of the work.
How to Prepare
Boil the pasta until just tender, then drain.
Cook the ground meat with the chopped onion, salt, black pepper and mixed spice until browned.
In a pot, whisk the yogurt (or milk) with the starch, stock cube and a pinch of salt, and bring to a gentle simmer while stirring in one direction so it does not split.
Stir the cooked pasta into the yogurt with the dried mint and warm through.
For the tagliya, fry the minced garlic and coriander in olive oil until fragrant, then stir most of it into the pot.
Serve topped with the cooked meat and the remaining garlic-coriander tagliya.
Stir the yogurt in one direction over low heat and add the starch early — that is how you keep the sauce smooth instead of curdled.