Biko delicacy: A glimpse inside the world of Syrian delicacies

A Biko (Arabic: همرار) is a traditional Syrian dessert with a rich history and is an integral part of many traditional cuisines in the Middle East.

The Biko is a combination of two main ingredients: the meat and cheese, and the sauce.

In the Middle Eastern cuisine, the meat is cooked with a sauce that is then used to make the cream and sugar, and served with the meat.

While the traditional Biko in Syria is usually made of minced meat and cooked with spices, other dishes such as the Lebanese Biko and the Moroccan Biko are also available in Damascus and other cities in Syria.

Ingredients for a traditional Bikolod: 1kg of beef or lamb (about 6-8kg of meat and a lot of fat) 2 tbsp of sugar (about 1 tbsp of water) (1.5-2 tsp) 4 cloves of garlic, crushed 1 cup of water (about 8 cups of water, or enough for the cooking process) 1 tsp of salt 2 tsp of black pepper, ground (optional) 2 tbsp of cream (optional, but recommended) For the sauce: 1 tbsp olive oil, or oil from your favorite oil store 1 tbsp coconut oil, melted (optional for the sauce) 5 tbsp sugar (optional and recommended) 1.

Cook the meat with the remaining ingredients in the following order: butter, salt, pepper, sugar and cream.

Heat a large pot over medium-high heat and cook the meat until it is no longer pink.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

2.

In a blender, combine the beef, sugar, salt and pepper.

Blend until smooth.

3.

Add the cream to the meat mixture.

Blend well until it forms a thick sauce that you can pour over the meat, if desired.

4.

Serve the sauce with the sauce on the side. 

(Recipe adapted from The Biko Recipe, edited by Tarek, March 2018.)