Kousa ablama bil laban could be the ultimate comfort food that has sustained generations in Lebanon and the Levant countries; it provides deep nourishment and sense of home, the recipe embodies two of my favorite things, cooked yogurt plus zucchini or grey squash.
The grey squash or zucchini is a great candidate for stuffing, just like kousa bil laban, mahshi koussa wa warak enab, and mahshi kousa wa batinjan, kousa ablama bil banadoura and including kousa ablama bil laban, these dishes are warming and homey staples of Lebanese cooking.
Kousa ablama bil laban made with tender grey squash filled with cooked minced meat and simmered in yogurt, no rice involved in the filling, unlike kousa bil laban. My grandmother often made it on special occasions alongside shish barak and kibbeh bil Laban; the memories came flooding back, a recipe worth keeping alive, it is hearty enough to eat it alone but works well to serve it with Lebanese rice and vermicelli, it is long been linked to comfort food.
How do you make kousa ablama bil laban?
This recipe starts with grey squash/zucchini, which are hollowed out, and filled with seared minced and pine nuts, pan fried then cooked in yogurt.
- Hallow out the zucchini
- Cook the minced meat
- Stuff the zucchini with minced meat
- Fry the zucchini in shallow oil
- Cook the yogurt
- Transfer the zuchini to the cooked yogurt and simmer for 20 minutes.
Ingredients Needed
- Grey squash or zucchini: Try to put your hands on small-medium Lebanese zucchini no longer than 7 inches/17 cm, and sometimes called Mexican grey squash, their pale green skin is smooth and shiny, are ideal to make kousa ablama bil laban.
- Plain Yogurt: The foundation of the dish is the yogurt alongside the zucchini.
- Minced Beef or Lamb: I gravitate more to lamb, but beef is commonly used as well.
- Garlic: To provide the dish with a rich savory depth.
- Dried Mint: to add a concentrated, earthy, and mellow herbal flavor.
- Onion: ideal to build rich flavor when cooked with minced meat.
- Cornstarch: the thickening agent.
- Salt: Obviously for flavor.
- Black Pepper: To build flavor depth.
- Water
- Ghee or Sunflower Oil: To fry the zucchini
Tips and Tricks:
- Use small-medium Lebanese zucchini no longer than 7 inches/17 cm, and sometimes called Mexican grey squash, their pale green skin is smooth and shiny, are ideal to make kousa ablama bil laban.
- Go for full fat yogurt, and please use plain yogurt and not the Greek yogurt.
- Bring yogurt to room temperature, before putting on the stovetop.
- You need to increase the yogurt’s stability with cornstarch. This is a rule in all Lebanese cooked yogurt dishes.
- Whisk the yogurt mixture continuously in one direction over medium heat until it comes to a gentle boil to ensure a smooth texture.
- Please don’t use non-fat yogurt, while it is still doable with nonfat yogurt, but to keep the deep flavor notes, go with full-fat versions when making kousa ablama bil laban; besides, non-fat yogurt has a higher protein-to-fat ratio, making it more prone to curdling.
- Consistency: It should be moderately thick, if it is too thick, add a splash of boiling water to it to thin it down. The consistency should be a bit thinner than shish barak or kibbeh bil laban, since you’ll be serving it with rice and vermicelli.
What causes the yogurt to curdle?
- Yogurt tends to curdle when heated up, two factors are important to consider when cooking shish barak or any yogurt-based dish. First you need to increase the yogurt’s stability by adding cornstarch, some versions would add rice to help emulsify the yogurt. Second, it is crucial to whisk the yogurt in a continues manner until it comes to a boil.
Kousa Ablama Bil Laban
Description
Kousa ablama bil laban could be the ultimate comfort food that has sustained generations in Lebanon and the Levant countries; it provides deep nourishment and sense of home, the recipe embodies two of my favorite things, cooked yogurt plus zucchini or grey squash.
Ingredients
For the yogurt
- 2 kgs / 4.5 lbs / 2 liters plain whole milk yogurt
- 6 garlic cloves crushed
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch diluted in 3 cups of water
- Salt to taste
- 2 teaspoons dried mint
For the meat filling
- 750 grams / 1.6 lb minced beef or lamb
- 1 medium sized onion finely chopped
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated black pepper
- 1/4 cup sunflower oil or ghee
- Salt to taste
1.5 kg small gry squash/ zucchini
1 cup canola or olive oil, or ghee to fry the zucchini
Garnish
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon dried mint
Instructions
- Make the meat filling, (hashweh): To a large skillet, add the sunflower oil and sauté pine nuts over medium heat to a golden color, remove with a slotted spoon and add the minced meat and cook over medium heat until well browned, for about 7 to 8 minutes. Add the onion, salt, and black pepper. Stir to combine, reduce heat to very low and cover up. Simmer about 5-7 minutes until the onion wilts and the liquid in the skillet has dried out. add half of the toasted pine nuts, and set aside to cool down completely before using!
- Core the zucchini: Wash, scrub and dry the zucchini, cut off the stem tips and gently hollow out the center with the vegetable corer, try to hollow just like you are carving a pumpkin, hollow out the center leaving 1/3 inch/ ¾ cm, around the interior walls.
- Stuff the zucchini: Fill each zucchini with the minced meat stuffing by hand until you reach the top, fully pack it until you reach the top, pushing it in so there are not air pockets.
- Fry the zucchini: Heat the sunflower oil or ghee in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add the stuffed zucchini in single layer and cook until golden-browned on the bottom, flipping 2 or 3 times, until lightly browned on all sides. To remove the excess oil and ensure the zucchini turns out nice and crisp, let them drain on a paper towel after frying.
- Cook the yogurt: In a large heavy based pot, add the yogurt, half of the crushed garlic and diluted cornstarch; whisk well to homogenize the mixture. Place over high heat, and continue whisking in one direction. The yogurt needs attention to avoid it from curdling; it is crucial to whisk the yogurt constantly.
- Dip the fried zucchini in yogurt: Once the yogurt boils, in a clear way, gently add the fried zucchini one at a time. Reduce heat to medium- low and keep it simmering (uncovered), stirring gently every now and then with a wooden spoon to prevent dumpling breakage. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes, allowing the flavors to mellow and develop together. Take a bite and adjust salt to your taste preference.
- Fry the dried mint. In a skillet heat olive oil and dried mint. Shimmer over medium-low heat, and stir until fragrant, about 45 seconds. Add to the kousa ablama pot and stir to homogenize, they’ll perfume your kousa abalama with a delectable scent.
- To serve: Transfer to a large bowl or individual soup plates. Serve warm, at room temperature or cold right from the fridge. You can also serve it with rice and vermicelli, though at our house, we enjoy it just by itself. Happy eating.
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