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Lamb Stuffed Pitas – Arayes Recipe with Garlic White Sauce
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Lamb Stuffed Pitas – Arayes Recipe with Garlic White Sauce

Lamb Stuffed Pitas – Arayes Recipe with Garlic White Sauce

Warm, juicy and so flavorful - these could easily end up in your food rotation. Btw, if you wanted a short cut just buy the pitas from a store. And if you're shy about lamb, these could easily be beef. But...they really should be lamb, because in this case it's way more interesting.

Makes 6-8

Ingredients

Pita

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 salt
  • 1 cup yogurt, non-fat Greek would be ideal

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Garlic White Sauce

  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 3 large garlic cloves, minced
  • I teaspoon ground cumin
  • Juice of ½ lime
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 tablespoon white vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¼ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons milk

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Arayes

  • 2 pounds ground lamb; could be beef or even a combo of the two
  • 1 small onion, minced (about ⅔ cup)
  • 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Directions

Pita

  1. Whisk flour, baking powder & salt in a large bowl
  2. Add the yogurt, and mix with a large spoon into a messy, shaggy dough
  3. Add a little more flour to your counter or surface, dump out the dough and knead 3 or 4 minutes until relatively smooth, shape into a ball and set aside 30-45 minutes
  4. Cut the dough into 8 even pieces, pull into a ball, then roll out into about a 6 inch circle
  5. Heat a non-stick pan to medium and add a flattened pita, cook until the bottom starts to get a few brown spots, and maybe begins to puff
  6. Flip over and repeat - and if you've been a good person, the pita will puff and fill with air - and when it has, remove and repeat with the rest then set aside

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Garlic White Sauce

  1. Put all the ingredients, except the milk, in a small bowl & mix well, then add a couple of tablespoons of milk to  make it drizzle-able
  2. Store in the fridge until ready to use

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Arayes

  1. Preheat grill or flattop to medium-high
  2. Combine arayes ingredients in a large bowl, and mix well to combine
  3. Cut a pita in half, carefully make a pocket and stuff with some of the lamb, and spread out in the pita half to an even thickness
  4. Brush both sides lightly with oil, then put one of the flat sides down, and cook (depending on thickness) 3 to 5 minutes - flip over and repeat
  5. At this point, you can turn them meat-side down until nice char marks appear - now just cook through to your likingi, and if you shoot for 135° to 140°F regardless you'll be fine
  6. Then just remove and serve with the garlic sauce