Description and Distinctive Features of the Product
Antep Yuvarlama / Antep Yuvalama is a dish made by cooking meatballs prepared with meat, rice and dried onions (optional) with pre-boiled meat and chickpeas and adding condensed yogurt-egg mixture with mint oil seasoning. Rice used in the preparation of Antep Yuvarlaması / Yuvalaması is a whole milled first or second grade pilaf rice or broken rice. The size of the meatballs is about 5-6 mm. For their preparation, lean, finely minced meat is used, which is comprised of meat of either a male sheep which is less than 1 year old or a female sheep that never gave birth. In the traditional recipe of Antep Yuvarlaması / Yuvalaması, rice is soaked, filtered, dried and pestled, then mixed with other ingredients and kneaded by hand. However, since this method is cumbersome, it has become commonplace to mince the meat and rice in a meat grinder. The rice can be minced separately in the grinder and mixed with other ingredients later on. These differences in methodology do not lead to significant changes in the properties of meatballs. The history of Antep Yuvarlama / Yuvalama goes back a long way. It has an important place in the culinary culture of Gaziantep province. In Gaziantep, it is the traditional dish of Ramadan (Eid ul-fitr) and is definitely included in the breakfast of the first day of Eid. The preparation of its ingredients and the cooking of the dish have a quality specific to this geographical region. For these reasons, there is a connection of reputation with the geographical region.
Ingredients
Ingredients for 1 serving of Antep Yuvarlama;
The ingredients for Yuvarlama Meat Balls:
- 30-35 g of Rice (fully milled first or second grade pilaf rice or cracked rice)
- 20-25 g Meat • 5-10 g Onion (optional)
- 50-70 g (Rice 30-35 g, Minced meat for meat balls 20-25 g, Onion 5-10 g (optional)
Ingredients
- 50-70 g Meatballs
- 10-15 g Chickpeas
- 15- 30 g Boiled coarse cubed or boned meat
- 25-30 g Condensed yogurt
- 5-10 g Oil (Plain oil or olive oil)
- 1-3 g Dried mint
- 1-3 g Black Pepper
- 4-6 g Salt
- Eggs
Preparation
For the preparation of meatballs, soak the rice in water for 1 to 3 hours, wash and filter through a colander and leave to dry for 6-8 hours. Soak the chickpeas in warm water for 6-8 hours. Wash and drain the boiled large cubed or boned meat (prepared from the meat of either a male sheep (younger a year old) or female sheep which never gave birth) and boil it in a saucepan with 1000-1200 ml of water and 4-6 g of salt. When it starts to boil, remove the the foam (kef in Turkish) formed on the boiling water using a colander. If the cooking foam is mixed into the broth, filter the broth through a thin cheesecloth to eliminate the murkiness. While the meat is cooking, depending on preference, you can add a peeled whole dried onion into the broth, only to remove later.
After the foam is removed, add the chickpeas into the pot, which were previously soaked in warm water. Cook the meat and chickpeas for 1 to 2 hours until they are softened. While the meat and chickpeas are cooking, the meatballs of the dish can be prepared. Along with the rice that has been washed and left to dry, the meat to be used in the making of meatballs, together with the pepper, salt and optionally the dried onion, shall be passed through the meat grinder twice and kneaded until they are smooth and soft.
Take small pieces from the resulting dough and roll inside your palms which are soaked in olive oil. The dough shall first be pressed into thin strips and then rolled into meatballs with a diameter of about 5-6 mm. Add the meatballs collected in a metal colander to the cooked meat and chickpeas and cook for 15-20 minutes inside the pan without the lid.
If the prepared meatballs are to be used later, put them inside a pot of suitable size for the colander, and boil in sufficient amonut of water.
When the water gets to a boil, place a metal strainer over the pot, but pay attention for it not to contact the water. Put the lid on and boil the meatballs in steam for 15 minutes. Meatballs should not swell excessively during the boiling process. Boiled meatballs can be stored in the freezer for up to 12 months.
Frozen meatballs can be placed on cooked meat and chickpeas to boil, without the need for thawing. Thawing the meatballs may cause them to fall apart. Whisk the condensed yogurt and the eggs in a saucepan and heat on very low heat, optionally, with a small amount of olive oil, constantly stirring in the same direction. Stir the mixture while slowly adding the broth of the dish.
When it starts to boil, take off the heat and add into the dish while stirring so that the yogurt does not become curd in the process. Fry plain oil or olive oil in a pan. Place the mint in a scoop and pour hot oil over it. Pay attention to not burn the mint. Antep Yuvarlaması / Yuvalaması can be served after adding mint oil on the dish in the pot or on serving plates. In the traditional recipe of Antep Yuvarlaması / Yuvalaması, rice is soaked, filtered, dried and pestled, then mixed with other ingredients and kneaded by hand.
However, since this method is cumbersome, it has become commonplace to mince the meat and rice in a meat grinder. The rice can be minced separately in the grinder and mixed with other ingredients later on. These differences in methodology do not lead to significant changes in the properties of meatballs.