Kishk is widely spread dried sour milk balls. It is a famous dish in the middle east and across the Mediterranean as well. It is made and prepared differently in each country. For Egyptians, kishk is mainly made in Upper Egypt, by fermenting bulgur in sour milk or yogurt then formed into balls and dried. To cook kishk you take these balls soak them in water, separated by hand then dropped into boiling broth. After that you'll add flour dissolved in some water and stir until you get something like pudding.
In the United states, you cannot find this type of kishk, that's why this easy handy kishk recipe is great as a sub to the authentic one. My family did not eat much kishk as we were young, my mom did not cook it regularly as her mom did. My husband, on the other hand, had been exposed more to kishk. He told me once that one of his grannies (actually the grandma of his best cousin), made a delicious kishk. So when I made this to him, it brought back good old memories.
This is a great recipe cold in summer and hot in winter days, so it will suit the season in whichever part of the world you are in. I posted this recipe long time ago, so pardon me for the pictures' quality. I wanted to take some new clicks for this recipe but actually both me and my husband are following a diet these days before the beginning of Ramadan.
I hope you'll like this recipe and please if you make this recipe, snap a pic and hashtag it #amiraspantry — I love to see your creations on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter!
---------------------This post was originally posted on January 30-2013 ----------------------------------
Kishk, is a famous dish that is prepared differently according to each country. In Egypt there are 3 different ways to prepare it - or at least 3 that I know of - depending on the region you are coming from. I am from Cairo, the capital, and this is the way I used to see mom and even her mom do it.
You will need:
- 1 cup of all purpose flour.
- 1 cup of plain yogurt.
- ½ cup of milk- any % will do.
- 5 cups of chicken broth - you can make it with chicken bouillon.
- salt and pepper to taste.
- a dash of cinnamon.
- 1 cup of diced onion - about 1 whole big yellow onion.
To make the Kishk:
- Mix the flour,milk and yogurt together in a bowl and let it set for 2 hours.
- Boil the broth, adjust the salt,pepper and cinnamon then add the flour mixture and whisk vigorously until it thickens and forms something like pudding.
- In a skillet over high heat, brown the onion in about 5 Tbs of vegetable oil.
- Pour the mixture in a plate and let it cool, then garnish with the brown onions.
- It should be eaten cold -some people prefer to cool it in the fridge before serving - with pita bread.
Try it and tell me what do you think.
Related Recipe
- Give your meals a touch of unique Egyptian flavors with this authentic Dukkah recipe. A versatile and delightful nuts, seeds, and spices blend that will surely add depth of flavor to your dishes.
Don’t want to miss a recipe? Sign up for the FREE Amira's Pantry newsletter delivered to your inbox with lots of tips and surprises! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram for all the latest updates.
Would you like to save this post?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Christa
I have a jar of kishk powder. How do I use it in cooking or drinking?
Amira
I do not have experience with kishk powder but I've found this and I hope it will help http://annacookingconcept.com/lebanese-green-kishk-soup/.
Bonnie Omar
Dear Amira
I was sooo happy to receive your recipe for Kishik. I’m Lebanese having to mail to order jars of it.
Very expensive!!
I’m very excited to make it more often. Thank you so much
Bonnie
Amira
Thank you so much Bonnie for your comment, I hope you will like it.
Erin
Hi Amira.
What about the dried balls of kishk that can be saved for later use ?
Perhaps you know the recipe for those ?
I love your website... I am from Argentina and am caring fir an older Egyptian man with cancer. I try to make Egyptian dishes tge bezt I can learn for his comfort.
Shukran
Erin Gonzalez-Hicks
Amira
Erin, you are so sweet to do this, oh my such a wonderful person. I do not have a recipe right now but I will look for one and I have a friend who loves this type of kishk. Would you allow me to email you when I find one?
Ann22
My family comes from both Cairo and Alexandria and I can definitely say that none add cinnamon to this dish. They all use a homemade chicken stock and add a tiny bit of rice to the yogurt mixture. We do serve it with the fried onions as you’ve indicated but we also serve with salsa hamra, tomato, garlic, vinegar sauce. And of course chicken and rice on the side. I haven’t had this in almost a decade. You’ve inspired me to make it. Thanks !
Amira
Yes, you know what when I made it the first time my husband (Cairo-based family) said that's it, while another friend (Alexandria based) said we do not add cinnamon :). And you are absolutely right many people eat Kishk with meat cooked in tomato sauce. It has been long since I did this so I think this will go into our menu for next week.
Simone Levy
Growing up we had the green kissk as my mother is turkish.i love it. Rice boiled in chicken broth with salk and fried garlic. Boil until rice is like pudding. When done add fresh lemon juceh
Amira
Oh, this is new to me. I need to try this recipe. Kishk in Egypt is always white, never heard of salk over it but I bet my husband would love this version. He is crazy about Salk 🙂
Imelda
Amira there is drink similar to this they drink it in the morning it has yogurt & garlic it looks like milk. What is it? I saw this in a Turkish movie.
Amira
Imelda, I think you are talking about the Ayran drink. I saw them drink it in Ramadan when they are about to break their fasting day.
Samaa Zeitoun
My mom used to add the squeeze of a lemon to the yogurt mix & no cinnamon. She would fry the onions first then add a little of that oil to the mix. I loved her kishk. She was also from Cairo btw 🙂
Amira
Samaa, one of my friends actually had the same comment on this particular dish long time ago. She felt the cinnamon addition was weird but acceptable, it was her first time tasting it with cinnamon. Next time I will add try your mom's twist.. thank you so much for sharing her recipe.. .
Maryam
Do you know the other 2 ways to make it? I think my mum adds rice and cooked onion to the pudding and then garnishes with charred/very well cooked onion.
Amira
Maryam, in the post itself I've indicated one of the other two ways I believe. You are right some people add rice. They simply cook rice in chicken stock then add milk and flour and keep cooking until it thickens up to the consistency of rice pudding. Cook some onion in oil and mix some into the rice while continue to brown the other part of the onion to garnish the dish with.
Beth
So interesting, and so nice that you connected with your Dad over this dish.
Mona
Thank you Amira! You made my day!
Amira
Mona, with this comment you made my month!!. It is my utmost purpose to help you all cook your favorite dishes. Waiting to see how it went with you. Thank you a zillion for your sweet words.
Samar
Are we letting it sit out of the fridge for two hours uncovered?
Amira
Samar, thank you for being interested in this recipe. Yes, that's exactly what I've done. If you live in a hot area and fear it might go bad, then probably best to put it out for just an hour.
Sama
Great and thank you for your fast response!
Magdy
I think half a cup of flour instead of one full cup and cooking it as a brown roux would have turn this dish a lot tastier with a nutty flavor.
maria
Insha Allah this recipe comes out delicious.....making it for the first time for a family dinner....
Shady
I Love Kishk, especially when it's warm, it becomes delicious 🙂
Amira
Thanks for stopping by. I guess some people like it warm too 🙂
Sommer
My mom's family is from mit ghamr, and we all enjoy our kishk hot!
Amira
To tell you the truth, I enjoy every kind of pudding bubbly and hot more than cold :). Sommer, I am with your family 100% hehehehe.