Recipe for Kobeba Samakeyah

Ingredients

1/2 cup bulgur, fine (cracked wheat)
1/2 small onion, cut in half
1 salt (to taste)
1 pepper (to taste)
----FISH FILLING----
1/2 lb flounder, fillets, or
1/2 lb cod, fillets
2 tablespoon butter, unsalted
1 medium onion, chopped
2 scallions, trimmed, chopped
1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped - (coriander) (op; t)
1 teaspoon cumin, ground
1 salt (to taste)
1 pepper (to taste)
----TAHINI SAUCE----
1/2 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
1/2 cup water (approximately)
2 tablespoon vinegar, red wine
1 each garlic, clove, minced
1 salt (to taste)
1 pepper (to taste)
2 tablespoon parsley, chopped
1 oil, vegetable (for frying)

Instructions

Cover the bulgur with water and soak for 30 minutes.

Drain and, a handful at a time, thoroughly squeeze out all liquid.

Place bulgur, onions, salt and pepper in processor and process with on-and-off turns until nearly smooth, scraping down sides as necessary. Transfer to bowl and knead until smooth. Set aside.

Fish Filling: =============

Steam fish until just cooked. Flake into small pieces and set aside.

Heat butter in a small skillet then add onion and scallions and saute until onion wilts, 3 to 5 minutes.

Stir in flaked fish, cilantro, cumin and salt and pepper, stirring gently over medium heat 2 minutes.

Set aside and cool completely.

For Tahini Sauce: =================

Place tahini and a 1/2 cup water in processor or blender; blend until smooth.

Add wine vinegar, garlic and salt and pepper; blend until smooth.

Add enough water to bring sauce to pouring consistency. Transfer to small bowl and stir in parsley.

Set aside, covered, at room temperature.

To Assemble: ============

To assemble, place small bowl if ice water on work surface. Using palms, form golf ball-size balls of bulgur mixture. Dipping fingers in ice water as you work shape each ball into a hollow tube around your index finger, gently pressing mixture into small cigar-shaped tubes about 3 inches long.

Moisten fingers frequently and patch any cracks as you work.

Slip each shell off your finger and fill with about 1 tablespoon of cooled fish filling using a small spoon. Press ends of tubes over fish filling, forming a tight seal.

Cover and freeze until firm, at least 2 hours.

Heat 2 inches of vegetable oil in large saucepan to 375 F.

Fry kobebas until golden, 4 to 5 minutes, turning once.

Serve immediately with tahini sauce.