I recently have come across a really amazing Armenian dish, which is also a tradition of Aleppo. It is a dish called kebab karaz. Kebab does not need an introduction, but for those who do not know, karaz in Arabic mean cherries. So basically this dish consists, of a mixture of meat, and cherries.
When I first tasted the dish at an Armenian restaurant I thought wow, this tastes amazing, but I thought that cherries would also taste as good, if combined with normal diced filet steak. So I looked up the recipe for kebab, and I modified it, and turned it into one that perfectly complements the taste of winter, and which makes an absolutely amazing fusion dish.
In this article, I will be teaching you how to make this absolutely delicious dish.
- 400 grams of filet finely diced into small cubes
- 500 grams of cherries finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon of bharat or oriental beef spices
- 1 cup of water
- 4 table spoons of lemon juice
- 4 table spoons of pomegranate molasses
- 1 table spoon of butter
- 200 grams of pine nuts
- 2 cups of yogurt
- 1 cup of heavy cream
- Salt for seasoning
To make this dish, combine the cherries, sugar, cinnamon, water, lemon juice, and pomegranate molasses into a pan, leave over heat until the mixture has boiled, then reduce heat, and leave over mild heat until the mixture gets thicker. While the mixture boils, mix the contents regularly, trying to squish the cherries to get the juices flowing out of them.
In a different pot, add in some butter, the diced cubes of fillet, as well as the oriental spices, all together, adding the salt for seasoning. When the meat turns brown, and is well cooked. Add in the cherry mixture to the beef filet, and leave on a low heat, until the filet turns burgundy, and takes in the color and the juices from the cherry sauce.
In a side bowl, mix in the yogurt, and heavy cream, whisk the contents together, until they are perfectly creamy, and well textured.
In a small frying pan, melt some butter, and add in the pine nuts, until gold and crispy.
Finally add the pine nuts to the filet mixture, serving the yogurt on the side of the dish, and adding some baked flat bread on the side.
This dish is one of my favorites for this season, it has an amazing mixture of tastes, and flavors, it is definitely recommended especially during the holidays.
