Pitta pat

Once again I return to my love of street food, this time a Levantine speciality. Arayes are grilled pita bread that is stuffed with spiced ground beef (or kofta). They are really simple to make and they're a common street food in the middle east. There's an Egyptian version called Hawawshi as well. They're typically served as a light dinner and dipped into either yogurt, a tahini sauce or even ketchup. They are so easy to make and they're a quick weeknight dinner that everyone loves!

Ground Beef: The beauty of this recipe is that you don’t have to cook the beef before you stuff the pitas, so it’s so fuss free to make! One note on the ground beef: make sure you use extra lean ground beef to avoid a really greasy result. That's because they get brushed with olive oil at the end!
Seasonings: Fresh parsley, 7 spice (baharat), cumin, cinnamon, coriander, cayenne, salt and pepper.
Onion: Finely mince the onion so that it combines easily with the ground beef.
Pita: Use double ply pita bread for these arayes. Spread the seasoned beef between the two layers of the pita, so you need pita with a pocket.
Oil: For cooking. I always like to use olive oil, but sunflower or vegetable will work too.

STEPS

Add the ground beef and seasonings to a bowl.

Use your hands to combine together.

Cut each pita into quarters.

Spread the beef mix into each piece of pita.

Heat the oil in a grill pan, once hot, add the stuffed pitas.

Cook on both sides till golden brown.