Lebanese Arayes

Arayes are Lebanese pita pockets with a savory meat filling, usually served with a sauce of some sort. I saw them on the internet about a week ago, and I thought of the chicken and cheese pita pockets that I used to love as a kid. The crunchy fried pita coupled with the warm spices in the meat appealed to me, and I knew I had to try making these. 

Ingredients:

1 onion, minced very finely in a food processor (The recipes I found said to grate the onion, but my makeup was way too nice for that today)

1 1/4 lb. ground beef, lamb, or bison

1 tbsp garam masala

1 tbsp allspice

5 pita breads, cut into 10 halves

Salt and pepper to taste

Olive oil for frying

I served these with a garlic sauce. I started to follow I recipe I found online, but didn't care for it, so I added things until it tasted good. I don't know the exact measurements I used, so I recommend doing some of your own research for a sauce that will go well with these, or inventing your own. I think a regular fry sauce would work if you're looking for something quick. 

Also, arayes are made authentically with a spice called baharat, also known as 7 spice. I couldn't find this anywhere in a grocery store, so I had to look for a substitution. Once source I found said garam masala, and another source said allspice, so I used both in equal amounts. 

I made my sauce first, so after you make your sauce or find what you want to use, prepare your meat filling. I added my lazy grated onion, ground meat, and spices into a bowl, put on gloves and worked everything together with my hands. 

Next, cut your pitas in half and open them up. I microwaved each half wrapped in a damp towel for about 20 seconds to steam them so they open up easier. Opening these gracefully is a learning process, and I totally didn't have a half as a snack after I ripped it up too much. Once you have a nice pita pocket opened up, fill it with your meat mixture. You want your pockets to be pretty flat still since you want the meat to cook through while frying before the pita burns. Try to aim for about an inch in thickness, no more than an inch and a half. Thinner is better for these. Fry these until the pita is crispy on the outside and the meat is cooked through, the holes in the pita were excellent places to stick a thermometer in lol. 

When your pita pockets on crack are done cooking, serve them with whatever sauce you're using. These were super delicious and filling. The textures came together beautifully, and the flavors, while different (I never thought I'd ever use garam masala and allspice together), had great complexity while not being overwhelming. I'm definitely going to attempt to get my hands on some baharat, and experiment cooking more Lebanese cuisine because these were really good.