Kurdish · soup

Kubba Hamuth (Sour Beetroot Soup with Bulgur Dumplings)

Name: Kubba Hamuth (Sour Beetroot Soup with Bulgur Dumplings)
Prep time: 1 h 51 min
Total time: 2 h 21 min
Cuisine: Kurdish
Ingredients: bulgur — 250 g; all-purpose flour — 80 g; salt — 5 g; cold water — 200 g; lamb — 300 g; onion — 120 g; sunflower oil — 27 g; baharat — 7 g; salt — 5 g; beets — 400 g; celery stalks — 120 g; lamb stock — 1500 g; tamarind paste — 44 g; limes — 130 g; caster sugar — 25 g; mint — 20 g

Kubba Hamuth (Sour Beetroot Soup with Bulgur Dumplings) reads sourness 4.7, citrus 4.4 and salinity 4.1 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Kurdish soup, about 2 hr 21 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 4.6 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 4.6 / 10
Sour & Bright — 6.0 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 1.9 / 10
Rich & Fat — 3.5 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 3.3 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Sourness 4.7 · Citrus 4.4 · Salinity 4.1 · Sweetness 4.0 · Umami 3.6 · Richness 3.2 · Herbaceous 3.0 · Allium 2.6 · Fruity 1.8 · Earthy 1.8 · Nutty 1.2 · Floral 1.1 · Funk & Ferment 0.9 · Bitterness 0.9

What's in it (16)

bulgur — 250 g
all-purpose flour — 80 g
salt — 5 g
cold water — 200 g
lamb — 300 g
onion — 120 g
sunflower oil — 27 g
baharat — 7 g
salt — 5 g
beets — 400 g
celery stalks — 120 g
lamb stock — 1500 g
tamarind paste — 44 g
limes — 130 g
caster sugar — 25 g
mint — 20 g

Time & effort: about 2 hr 21 min (1 hr 51 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 73.5 kcal, 3.7 g protein, 2.1 g fat, 10.9 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (8 steps)

Soak the fine bulgur in the cold water for 30 minutes until swollen, then knead in the flour and shell salt for 10 minutes until you have a smooth dough that holds a thumbprint.
Fry the onion in the oil over medium heat for 8 minutes until golden, add the lamb, baharat and filling salt, and cook 8 minutes until dry and browned. Cool 15 minutes.
Wet your hands, take a walnut of dough, hollow it with your thumb into a cup 4 mm thick, fill with a teaspoon of meat and close it into a smooth ball. Make about 24.
For the broth, simmer the beetroot and celery in the stock for 25 minutes until the beetroot is tender and the liquid has gone deep crimson.
Add the tamarind, the pierced dried limes and the sugar and simmer 10 minutes. The balance is the point of the dish: hamuth means sour, and it should be sour first and sweet second, with the loomi's musty bitterness underneath. Adjust with more tamarind or sugar until it makes you sit up.
Lower the kubba into the barely simmering broth one at a time and cook 20 minutes, uncovered, until they float and the shells have firmed. Do not let it boil hard or they will burst.
Ladle into bowls with three or four kubba each and scatter with chopped mint. Serve very hot, with flatbread.
Substitutions: chicken stock can stand in for the litres lamb stock.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Grilled Halloumi and Vegetable Skewers — Mediterranean
Mediterranean Pasta — Mediterranean
Zeytinyagli Enginar (Artichokes in Olive Oil) — Turkish
Greek-Style Roasted Branzino with Lemon and Herbs — Greek
Sheet-Pan Vegetable and Halloumi Bake — Mediterranean

Keep reading: what sourness, citrus, salinity mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

See how this dish fits your palate — take the short taste test →

Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.