Crispy Lebanese Meat Stuffed Pita - Arayes
Recipe video above. Lebanese street food - pita bread stuffed with spiced kofta meat, pan fried until crispy! Think of these as Lebanese quesadillas or easy Gozleme. :) The unique method here is that it's cooked with raw meat inside, so the tasty meat juices soaks into and flavours the pita bread as it cooks. It's outrageously delicious. I bet you become as obsessed with these as I have!
- Prep time
- 15 min
- Cook time
- 15 min
- Yield
- 10 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 5 pita bread (, the thin pocket type, ~15cm/6" diameter (250g/8oz pack), cut in half (Note 1))
- Olive oil spray ((or brush with olive oil))
- 1/2 brown onion
- 500g/ 1 lb lamb or beef mince ((ground meat) (Note 2))
- 2 garlic cloves (, finely grated)
- 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley (, optional)
- 3 tsp ground coriander
- 3 tsp ground cumin
- 1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika ((sub plain paprika))
- 3/4 tsp ground allspice ((sub mixed spice))
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper ((reduce/omit for less spicy - Note 4))
- 1 1/4 tsp cooking/kosher salt
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- 2 tbsp tahini ((or Chinese sesame paste - Note 5))
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 garlic clove (, finely grated)
- 1/2 tsp cooking/kosher salt
Instructions
- 1
Grate the onion in a bowl using a standard box grater. We want the juices and all! (Note 4)
- 2
Meat filling - Add remaining meat filling ingredients. Mix well with your hands.
- 3
Divide stuffing in 10 (about 55 to 60g per portion, 1/4 cup). Flatten into a semi-circle shape slightly smaller than the pita bread half.
- 4
Stuff - Gently open a pita then place the meat inside. Close, then press to spread to the edge and make it fairly evenly flat. (Is your pita tearing? See Note 5 for tip!)
- 5
Preheat oven to 50C/120F. Place a rack on a tray. (To keep cooked Arayes warm.)
- 6
Cook - Heat a large frying pan over medium high heat. Spray both sides of the pita with olive oil then place 2 or 3 pieces in the pan (whatever you can fit). Cook for about 2 minutes on each side, pressing down lightly with a spatula, until golden and crispy. The meat is spread so thin it cooks really quickly! {Sandwich press - Note 7}
- 7
Keep warm - Transfer cooked Arayes onto the rack and put in the oven to keep warm. Cook remaining pita.
- 8
Serve - Cut in half if desired (sometimes I do, sometimes I don't!). Pile Arayes onto a serving platter. Serve with Whipped Tahini sauce. Enjoy!
- 9
Place ingredients in a heatproof bowl and whisk to combine. Microwave for 15 seconds on high. Whisk again - it should resemble soft whipped cream. Use slightly warm or at room temperature.