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Kubbat Halab (Iraqi Rice-Crust Kubba)
Pointed golden croquettes with a crisp shell of turmeric rice, filled with minced beef or lamb, onion, parsley and baharat, deep-fried and eaten hot with pickles.
Iraqi · advanced · serves 6
prep 60 min · cook 60 min · plus 1 h hands-off time
~486 cal · 23g protein · 67g carbs · 13g fat · 2g fiber · 7g sugars · 4g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Kubbat Halab means "Aleppo kubba", but it is an Iraqi dish. Most kubba in the Levant have a shell of and meat; the Iraqi cooks who named this one after Aleppo, a city famous for its kibbeh, gave it a shell of soft-cooked rice instead, in the spirit of friendly rivalry. The rice is coloured yellow with turmeric, fries to a thin, crackling crust and stays soft inside.
The rice is cooked until very soft, sometimes with a small potato to help it bind, then kneaded by hand into a smooth, slightly sticky dough. Pieces are hollowed into cups, filled with qeema, minced meat fried with onion, parsley and baharat, and sealed and shaped into ovals with pointed ends. Some families add raisins or toasted pine nuts to the filling, and some an egg into the rice.
They are eaten hot, straight from the oil, with pickles on the side, and they freeze well, so a big batch can be shaped and fried a few at a time.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
- 2 cups (about 400 g) long-grain white or basmati rice
- 1 (about 120 g) small potato, peeled and diced, helps the rice bind
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 1/2 tsp salt (for the rice)
- 4 cups water (for the rice)
- 1 tbsp (for the filling)
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- 400 g minced beef or lamb
- 1 tsp baharat (Arabic mixed spice)
- to taste salt and black pepper (for the filling)
- 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 1/4 cup raisins, optional
- about 1 litre , for deep-frying
- to taste Iraqi pickles (turshi), to serve
Instructions
- 1Rinse the rice until the water runs clear, cover with cold water and soak for 1 hour, then drain.
- 2Put the rice, potato, turmeric, salt and the 4 cups of water in a pot, bring to a boil, then cover and cook on low for 20 to 25 minutes until the water is absorbed and the rice is very soft. Leave covered until cool enough to handle.
- 3Meanwhile make the filling: fry the onion in the oil for 5 minutes until soft, add the meat and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, breaking it up, until browned and the liquid has gone. Season with the baharat, salt and pepper, stir in the parsley and raisins, and let it cool.
- 4Mash the warm rice and potato, then knead it with your hands for 5 minutes into a smooth, sticky dough that holds together.✎ Chef’s noteKnead by hand rather than in a machine, and keep a bowl of cold water nearby to wet your hands so the rice does not stick.
- 5Take a piece of dough the size of an egg, roll it into a ball and press your thumb into it, turning it to make a thin-walled cup. Add a spoonful of filling, close the dough over it, and shape into an oval with pointed ends. Repeat with the rest.✎ Chef’s notePatch any cracks with a little wet rice; a crack lets oil in and the kubba can burst in the pan.
- 6Heat the frying oil to 180C (350F). Fry the kubba 4 or 5 at a time for about 4 minutes, turning, until deep golden and crisp. Drain on a rack and serve hot with pickles.
Iraqi home tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Baghdad. Baghdad cooks along the Tigris, layering rice and meat into timman and quzi, and searing masgouf carp upright beside an open fire. Iraqi cooking loves sweet-sour depth, using tamarind, dried lime, and pomegranate in its stews.
🗺️
Iraq. Iraqi cooking descends from ancient Mesopotamia, famous for masgouf grilled river fish, dolma, and slow-cooked stews over rice. Dates, tamarind, and dried lime lend a distinctive sweet-and-sour depth.
🌍
Asia. A grain line runs across the continent. Rice dominates the wet south and east, wheat the drier north and west, and the tools follow it: the wok and the steamer where rice is milled, the tandoor and the griddle where wheat is ground. Tea travels the other way, drunk green, black, salted, buttered or with milk depending how far it got from China.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Iraq
Iraqi DolmaVine leaves and vegetables stuffed with tomato-and-pomegranate rice, packed tight and steamed until sweet-sour and tender.
Kahi with GeymarFlaky layered pastry baked crisp, soaked in syrup, and topped with rich clotted geymar cream.
MasgoufButterflied river fish marinated and slow-grilled over open flame, Iraq's national dish and the pride of Baghdad.
Browse all Iraq recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan.
Storing it: Cool leftover rice quickly and refrigerate within an hour. Keep up to 2 days and reheat until piping hot all the way through.
Make it an Iraq meal
Iraqi ChaiDrink
KleichaDessert
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Frequently asked questions
What is Kubbat Halab (Iraqi Rice-Crust Kubba)?
Pointed golden croquettes with a crisp shell of turmeric rice, filled with minced beef or lamb, onion, parsley and baharat, deep-fried and eaten hot with pickles.
Where does Kubbat Halab (Iraqi Rice-Crust Kubba) come from?
Kubbat Halab (Iraqi Rice-Crust Kubba) is an Iraqi dish from Baghdad, Iraq.
Can Kubbat Halab (Iraqi Rice-Crust Kubba) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Kubbat Halab (Iraqi Rice-Crust Kubba) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Kubbat Halab (Iraqi Rice-Crust Kubba) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Kubbat Halab (Iraqi Rice-Crust Kubba) take to make?
About 3 h in all: 60 minutes prep and 60 minutes cooking, plus 1 h of hands-off waiting the method needs, serving 6.
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