Lebaniye Çorbası (Turkish Yogurt Soup with Tiny Meatballs)

Ingredients

• 300 g ground beef (Ground chicken or lamb may be substituted.)
• salt (To taste; for the meatballs.)
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes (The author used hot Aleppo pepper; omit if desired.)
• 1 small onion (Grated.)
• 0.5 tsp dried parsley (For the meatballs.)
• 2 tbsp rice
• 1 cup cooked chickpeas
• 4 cups water (For cooking the rice and making the broth.)
• 1.5 cups plain yogurt (Make sure it is not sour.)
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tbsp flour
• 0.5 lemon juice (Juice of 1/2 lemon.)
• 1 tbsp garlic (Grated.)
• 2 tbsp butter (For cooking the meatballs and finishing the soup.)
• 1 tbsp dried mint (Added with the chickpeas and used as part of the finishing flavor.)
• salt (To taste; added with the chickpeas and meatballs.)

Steps

1. 1

   Place the ground beef, grated onion, salt, dried parsley, red pepper flakes, and black pepper in a bowl. Knead the mixture well for a few minutes, until it comes together evenly.

2. 2

   Shape the mixture into very small, marble-sized meatballs and set them aside.

3. 3

   Put the rice and water in a pot. Cook until the rice softens.

4. 4

   Meanwhile, melt the butter in a pan.

5. 5

   Add the meatballs to the melted butter and cook until they are lightly browned.

6. 6

   Add the cooked chickpeas, dried mint, and salt to taste to the pan. Mix, then set the meatball mixture aside.

7. 7

   Whisk the yogurt, egg yolk, flour, lemon juice, and grated garlic together in a bowl until smooth.

8. 8

   Take a couple of ladles of hot broth from the rice pot and slowly whisk it into the yogurt mixture to temper it.

9. 9

   Pour the tempered yogurt mixture into the rice pot while stirring continuously. Bring the soup to a gentle boil.

10. 10

    Add the browned meatballs to the soup and mix. Serve warm.

Notes

The source does not specify exact cooking times, heat levels, or the final texture beyond softened rice, lightly browned meatballs, and a gentle boil. The transcript identifies the dish as a Gaziantep-region Turkish soup and mentions that butter with dried mint is a typical finishing flavor.

Nutrition per serving

• soup
• main
• Turkish
• Gaziantep
• iftar
• Ramadan
• yogurt-based
• meatballs