Kibbeh nayyeh

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Kibbe nayyeh (also kibbee, kubba, Arabic كبة نية or كبة نيئة) is a common Mezze meal in Lebanon, Syria and Palestine. It consists of minced raw lamb meat mixed with bulgur and spices. Bulgur (or in the local Levantine dialect "burghol"), is prepared from wheat. The wheat is boiled then dried again, and this is ground into smaller grains. There can be 2 sizes, the fine (smaller) size is used with Kebbeh Nayyeh. Kebbeh Nayyeh is often served with mint leaves and olive oil, green peppers, and green onions. Pita bread is used to eat it. Sometimes a sauce of garlic, olive oil and lemon juice is served. The dish has a unique versatility in that any leftovers are cooked, creating a different dish.

Many recipes call for Kibbe Nayyeh as the "shell" for cooked Kibbe as well. In this case however, the kibbe nayyeh is rolled into a ball and stuffed with lamb, onions, pine nuts and spices, then fried.