Laban Immo is one of the most memorable and satisfying meals that will warm you to the soul, it is basically made from slowly cooked lamb or beef shanks with a copious amount of onions, bathed together in a cooked yogurt soup and served with rice and vermicelli.
Lebanese recipes that should never be lost!
With its tangy agreeable creamy taste, laban immo has a special presence on the Middle Eastern dining table, just like kibbeh bil laban, shish barak and kousa bil laban. Those home-style dishes carry the stories of those who came before us, the importance of recording and remembering these recipes can be massive in creating a lasting legacy for the people we love and for recipes that are sacred that should never be lost.
What makes laban immo so special?
When fresh yogurt is cooked its acidity becomes more obvious, and adding the meat broth and cooked onions balances the flavors of the cooked yogurt. At the end of cooking cooked lamb shanks are added to the yogurt, and a sprinkle of fried pine nuts provide laban immo with an agreeable contrasting crunch, when served with rice and vermicelli, you will end up with a winning meal that nourishes your body and soul.
What kind of meat is used to laban immo?
Lamb shanks are the best option, or beef shanks; you can also use lamb shoulder on the bone.
Ingredients needed to make laban immo
- Plain whole milk yogurt
- Onions
- Lamb shanks on the bone
- Cornstarch
- Pine nuts
- Salt
- Butter or ghee
How to make laban immo?
Cook the meat and whole onions: Wash the meat under running water and drain. Transfer to a pot, and add 8 cups of water and cook on high heat. Spoon the scum as it appears on top, and once it reaches a boiling point add the whole onions. Cover the pot, reduce heat to low and simmer for 2 hours until the meat is fully cooked. Strain the broth and transfer the meat to a dish to cool down. Shred the meat.
Mix the yogurt, blended onions and meat broth: Remove the cooked onions and blend using a hand blender, then transfer to a large pot. Add 1 1/2 cups of the meat broth to the onions. Stir in the yogurt and the diluted cornstarch and season with salt.
Cook the laban immo: Cook over high heat whisking continuously; when the mixture reaches a boiling point, add the cooked meat shreds, and simmer over medium-low heat.
Toast the pine nuts: Meanwhile melt butter in a skillet over medium heat, and sautee the pine nuts, stirring constantly to a golden color.
Time to serve laban immo: Transfer the pine nuts to the yogurt mixture, simmer for a bout 5 minutes over low heat, serve with rice and vermicelli.
Laban immo, that translates to his mother’s milk, strikes a balance of being both light and filling; basically, it is a combination of cooked meat in warm yogurt soup that is served with rice and vermicelli, a simple technique but complex in flavor. The most time-consuming part is slow cooking the meat, when this step is done, laban immo can be merely ready in 30 minutes alongside the rice. When my family smells this dish on the stovetop they know they are in for a treat!
Looking for more Lebanese yogurt based dishes, we got you covered!
- Kibbeh Bil Laban
- Shish Barak
- Kousa Bil Laban
- Kafta Bil Laban
- Shrimp Fatteh
- Broad Green Fava Beans Fatteh
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Laban Immo
Description
Ingredients
- 6 cups full cream plain yogurt
- 2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch diluted in 1/2 cup of water
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 10 medium sized onions peeled
- 500 grams lamb or beef shanks on the bone or lamb neck on the bone
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Wash the meat under running water and drain. Transfer to a pot, and add 8 cups of water and cook on high heat. Spoon the scum as it appears on top, and once it reaches a boiling point add the whole onions. Cover the pot, reduce heat to low and simmer for 2 hours until the meat is fully cooked. Strain the broth and transfer the meat to a dish to cool down. Shred the meat.
- Remove the cooked onions and blend using a hand blender, then transfer to a large pot. Add 1 1/2 cups of the meat broth to the onions. Stir in the yogurt and the diluted cornstarch and season with salt.
- Cook over high heat whisking continuously; when the mixture reaches a boiling point, add the cooked meat shreds, and simmer over medium-low heat.
- Meanwhile melt butter in a skillet over medium heat, and sauté the pine nuts, stirring constantly to a golden color.
- Transfer the pine nuts to the yogurt mixture, simmer for a bout 5 minutes over low heat, serve with rice and vermicelli.
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