Arayes really took off on the streets of Syria and Lebanon. Now its irresistible composition of spiced meat and crispy bread is going viral. Make this at home for a quick yet incredible weeknight meal.
Arayes with Homemade Amba Sauce
Servings
6 Servings
Ingredients
- 3 pitas sliced in half
- 1 pound Ground Beef
- 1 pound Ground Lamb
- ½ white onion diced
- 1 cup parsley chopped
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 large mango peeled and cut from seed
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¾ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup water
- 1 teaspoon ground fenugreek
Instructions
- Heat your grill to a medium temperature, about 300℉ / 150℃.
- In a large bowl, mix together the beef, lamb, onion, parsley, cumin, cinnamon, black pepper, salt and garlic.
- Open each half of sliced pita and stuff with the meat filling. Spread the meat out to the edges as much as possible, without tearing the pita, so the pockets are an even thickness. If this middle is much thicker than the edges, it will be harder to cook all the way through.
- Brush the pitas with olive oil on both sides.
- Grill the arayes on all sides for a total of 8-10 minutes. If the pitas begin to burn too quickly, turn the heat down or transfer the arayes to a cooler part of the grill. You can always check that the meat is cooked through with a meat thermometer (beef/lamb should be cooked to 145℉ / 75℃). The center can take longer than you expect to cook. If it is very soft to the touch, it’s not done. Cook until meat feels firm when you press your finger against the middle of the meat.
- For the homemade amba sauce, place a large saucepan on the stove. Add the mango, curry powder, turmeric, salt, garlic, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, water and ground fenugreek. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat.
- With a hand blender, blend the mixture to a smooth consistency. It’ll still have a syrupy consistency, but that’s how amba should be!
I want to prepare this in advance for Sukkot if possible, but I don’t want it to become mushy. Should I freeze after or before cooking?
I have frozen them both ways and they work well. It is easiest if you cook them and then freeze, just make sure to let them cool completely before freezing and reheat in an oven to crisp up a bit.
Holy Moly, that looks delicious! I am going to try this out and as it’s super cold right now in Canada, I will do this in my grill pan vs BBQ. I can hardly wait! Thank you for posting this delicious gem of a recipe :))))
” (beef/lamb should be cooked to 145℉ / 75℃). ”
IMHO thats for solid meat or lamb, not for ground. Unless you must have your ground meat rare, 160ºF is considered the safe target:
https://www.foodsafety.gov/food-safety-charts/safe-minimum-cooking-temperature
If you don’t want to grill it is probably beset on the stove top in a frying pan.
Can this recipe be grilled in the oven?