Zaqarit, bulgur balls in yoghurt

Zaqarit is a spoon dish from the village kitchens of the Hauran: fine bulgur is kneaded with onion and fat into small balls, which then cook in hot yoghurt. There is no meat and no filling. Households in Daraa make it in winter, in Ramadan and for Eid.

How it is made

The preparation runs in three stages. The bulgur soaks in hot water for half an hour. It is then kneaded with chopped onion, olive oil or ghee, a little flour and spices, and rolled between the palms into small balls. Thickened yoghurt is heated in a separate pot; the balls go in and simmer with it until cooked.

How it is served

There are two ways. The balls come on their own plate with the yoghurt beside them, or everything arrives hot in the same pot. eSyria’s piece on the dish presents it as winter food that gives energy and warmth.

When it is made

In winter and on days when the family gathers. In the past it marked the end of threshing and the bringing in of the harvest. Today it keeps its place at the Ramadan and Eid table: zaqarit is one of the home-cooked dishes Daraa households send to neighbours and relatives. Rolling the balls is work women do together.

How it differs from kibbeh labaniyeh

Both are bulgur balls cooked in yoghurt. Kibbeh labaniyeh has meat inside its bulgur shell. Zaqarit has neither meat nor filling; the ball is only bulgur and onion.

Where to eat it

It is a home dish and is not sold in restaurants. It appears in Daraa province and the villages of the Hauran, mostly in winter and at the Ramadan table.