Arayes are a middle eastern snack/street food made from a savory seasoned meat mix stuff into a pita and then pan fried to give a nice juicy meaty filling and a crisp pita cooked in the juices from the meat. These yummy pitas are served with a creamy garlic sauce traditionally made with tahini, although I have non tahini version too you can make with ingredients everyone has in the house.
These are super quick to make and took me maybe 25 minutes total. They would make a great appetizer or snack, and also made a nice dinner. The meat here is 85/15 ground beef, and I recommend using that mix, because you want some fat to help crisp the pita, but not too much. The meat is mixed with feta cheese, spices and herbs and then stuff into the pita and cooked. There are very few steps for a very satisfying meal. 🙂
Arayes (Meat Stuffed Pitas)
Ingredients
For the pitas:
- 1 lb 85/15 ground beef
- 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley
- 2 tbsp chopped scallions
- 1/2 tbsp chopped mint or 1/2 tsp dried
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp salt
- fresh black pepper to taste preference
- pita breads cut into half circles and carefully opened
- oil for frying
For the sauce:
- 1/4 cup mayo
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- salt to taste
- 2 tbsp tahini optional
Instructions
- Combine the meat with all of the other ingredients and mix well. Carefully open the pita halves and stuff the meat in, spreading out into an even layer about 1 inch thick. Heat a few tbsp of oil in a skillet over medium/medium low heat and add the pitas. Cook for a few minutes on one side, then flip and keep cooking and flipping as needed to avoid burning, until your meat is fully cooked. This took about 6 minutes or so for mine. Serve immediately.
- Mix the the sauce ingredients and serve sauce on the side.