Kishk or Matheera /Kubba and Barley in yogurt sauce

Serves about 6 

Preparation time: About 2 hours

​This dish is very simple to make but takes a while because the meat takes about 2 hours to get tender and the barley takes a little over an hour.  If you need to speed things up, you can use a pressure cooker for the meat and barley.  Also, soaking the barley overnight helps cook it faster but it would only save time if you were omitting the meat or you used meat that got tender in the time it took to cook the barley.

Ingredients
1.5 pounds lamb loin chops – found at Costco or Sam’s club in metro Detroit area (or your choice of meat with or without bones)
1 cup barley rinsed
2 cups liquid Kishk *see note below
30 kubba (for kubba recipe click here)
1 cup whole milk yogurt
½ cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
Water

*Kishk (also known as Jameed) is yogurt from goats milk that has been dried and preserved.  It has a very tart and tangy flavor.  It can found in at most Middle Eastern markets or even Amazon.  It comes in the following forms:

• Liquid- this is what I used (see pic below). Shake the container very well because the bottom of it will be solidified and the top will be a liquid.  The container I used had about 4 -5 cups so I froze half to use in the future. Don’t be surprised that it’s a bit pricey.  My container was $9.
• Powder – Follow the directions on package.
• Rock – these are soaked in water overnight. 

Directions

• Add your meat to a pot and cover with water.  Boil for about 5 minutes.  Discard water.
• In the same pot, add 10 cups of water and one teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil and then cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
• Add the barley to the pot. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes.
• Remove the bones from your meat if you used meat with bones and add the Kubba to the pot.  Bring to a boil and then turn burner to low for 20 minutes.
• If you are using the liquid kishk– shake your container very well.  Add the kishk liquid to a blender or food processor and blend.  Then add yogurt and milk and blend more.
• Add the Kishk mixture to the pot and gently stir.  Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring frequently until your sauce thickens.  Add more salt to taste.

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