Arayes are ground meat stuffed pita that are baked or grilled to crispy-edged toasties and served with yoghurt or our favourite tahini sauce.
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time15 minutesmins
Total Time30 minutesmins
Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Snack
Cuisine: arabic, lebanese, middle eastern
Servings: 3people
Author: Famidha Ashraf
INGREDIENTS
For Arayes
500gramsground meat(beef or lamb or chicken)
1large onion(approx 100g)
50gramfresh parsley(approx 2 cups)
2garlic clovesoptional
1tablespoonpomegranate molassesoptional
½teaspoonallspice powder
¼teaspooncinnamon powder
1teaspoonsalt
½teaspoonblack pepper powder
6pita bread
olive oilto brush
For Tahini sauce
3tablespoonlemon juice
½cuptahini
⅓ to ½cup cold water
1garlic cloveminced
½teaspoonsalt(or to taste)
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 392°F (200°C).
Process the onion, garlic (if using) and parsley in a chopper or pulse them in a food processor or use your knife to chop them very finely.
1 large onion, 50 gram fresh parsley, 2 garlic cloves
In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground meat with the chopped items, ground spices and pomegranate molasses. Mix well until all the ingredients are evenly incorporated. Keep covered until needed. You may make this a day ahead and keep refrigerated.
500 grams ground meat, 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses, ½ teaspoon allspice powder, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon powder, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper powder
Prepare the tahini sauce by whisking the tahini and lemon juice until fluffy. Whisk in cold water a little at a time until it reaches a thick pouring consistency. You may not need all of the water. Lastly, stir in the salt and minced garlic.
3 tablespoon lemon juice, ½ cup tahini, ⅓ to ½ cup cold water, 1 garlic clove, ½ teaspoon salt
Stack the pita bread and cut using a knife into half or quarters.
6 pita bread
Spread the meat mixture on one side of each pita triangle using about 2-3 tablespoons for each piece. You may drizzle a teaspoon of the prepared tahini sauce before closing. Close the pita bread pressing lightly.
Place the stuffed pita on a lined baking sheet and brush the tops with olive oil.
olive oil
Bake the arayes for a total of 10-15 minutes. Serve hot with the remaining tahini sauce or any yoghurt dip.
Notes
Sloppy arayes? At the end of baking time, if you noticed that some of the arayes are not cripsy, remove the rest and continue to bake the remaining until crispy. You may flip them and bake until crispy.