This version with tamarind is from Aleppo. Serve hot or cold, as a first course or part of a buffet meal.
Recipe information
Yield
makes about 22
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Cut the hard green ends off the leeks, so that you have white cylinders about 6 inches long. With a sharp knife, make a slit very carefully along one side of each leek, through to the center but no farther. Boil the leeks in salted water till softened. Drain and cut a slice off the root end, freeing the layers from each other. You will have wide rectangular strips.
Step 2
Season the ground meat with salt, pepper, cinnamon, and allspice and work to a soft paste with your hands. Put about 1 heaping tablespoon filling in a line along the larger side of a rectangle, leaving about 1 inch at each end, and roll up like a long thin cigar. Continue with all the leaves. When they get too narrow, put 2 together to make a roll.
Step 3
Heat the oil in 2 large skillets. Put in the rolls, side by side, and sauté gently for a few minutes, until lightly colored all over, turning them over once. Dilute the tamarind paste and sugar in a little hot water and pour over the rolls. Add more water—enough to cover them.
Step 4
Cook, covered, over very low heat for 1/2–3/4 hour. Remove the lids towards the end to reduce the sauce if necessary.
