Arayes

Aasiya, my sister makes amazing food. We are real foodies and she is the person I always split my dinner with. We order 2 dishes and we split them in half. That way we each get to try 2 dishes and we don’t have to order 2 of each and risk a huge tummy ache later when we cant finish our food. 

Because she enjoys food too, I know she will give me honest feedback about my recipes. She loved these Arayes. Living in Bahrain and having visited Türkiye many times, obviously she’s had loads of Arayes, so the competition was tough. But I have to say this recipe was spot on. It tasted so good and she gave it 2 thumbs up and ate it al! This is why she is my foodie friend. She loves to experiment with food and gives the best constructive criticism. I spent a while getting the recipe just right for this. And it definitely paid off. 

Preparation Time 10 minutes 

Cook Time 20 minutes 

Yields 6 

Ingredients 

2 onions- peeled 

1 jalapeno- chopped- optional 

4 cloves garlic- minced 

1/2 cup coriander- chopped 

1 kg ground beef 

2 tablespoons paprika 

2 teaspoon cumin powder 

2 teaspoon coriander powder 

2 teaspoon onion powder 

2 teaspoon garlic powder 

2 teaspoon salt 

1 teaspoon black pepper 

1 teaspoon cayenne

Yogurt Tahini Sauce

1 cup greek yogurt 

2 tablespoons tahini 

1 tablespoon lemon juice 

1 teaspoon garlic paste 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

To Serve 

8 pita bread 

1/4 cup olive oil 

Instructions 

1. Grate the onion finely over a tea towel. Squeeze the water out of the onion. Discard the water, you will not be needing it. 

2. Chop the jalapeño, coriander and garlic. Mix it with the onion on the chopping board and chop it all together. 

3. Place the beef in a large bowl, add the onion mixture, paprika, cumin powder, coriander powder, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Mix it together. Set it aside for 15 minutes. 

4. Combine all the sauce ingredients and mix well. Chill until ready to use.

5. When ready to cook, slice the pita bread in half and carefully open them up to form a pocket. Add half a cup of the beef mixture to the middle. Continue with the remaining beef mince. 

6. Brush some oil over the arayes. Cook them on a medium heat for 4-5 minutes, then turn the arayes meat side down and cook it until golden brown. Serve with the yogurt tahini sauce.