Levantine cuisine · Salads & Mezze

Kabis Khiyar

Small cucumbers pickled in brine with garlic, dill and chili, crisp and sour after a week.

Ingredients · for 6 servings

• 1 kg small pickling cucumbers
• 1 l water
• 60 g salt
• 100 ml white wine vinegar
• 8 cloves garlic
• 1 bunch dill
• 2 red chili peppers
• 1 tbsp black peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves

Instructions

1. Wash the cucumbers thoroughly, trim the blossom ends and place the cucumbers in ice water for 2 hr. so they stay firm; rinse two screw-top jars with hot water.
2. Bring the water to a boil with the salt until fully dissolved, stir in the vinegar and let the brine cool to room temperature.
3. Press the garlic cloves flat, slit the chili peppers lengthwise and roughly divide the dill with its stems.
4. Pack the cucumbers upright and tightly into the jars, tucking in garlic, dill, chili, peppercorns and bay leaves between them.
5. Cover completely with the cold brine so no cucumber sticks out, seal the jars and let stand at room temperature for 5–7 days until the brine turns cloudy and smells sour.
6. Then refrigerate and serve the cucumbers as a crisp mezze with grilled dishes or hummus; they keep for 2 months.