Dushbara Ash (Düşbərə Aşı) — Azerbaijani Dumpling Soup with Vinegar and Mint

• 300 gall-purpose flour (plus 20 g for dusting)
• 4 gfine salt (about 3/4 tsp)
• 150 mlwater (warm, about 40°C)
• 1egg (large, about 50 g without shell)
• 250 gground beef (80–85% lean)
• 120 gyellow onion (grated on fine holes and squeezed lightly)
• 1 tspblack pepper (freshly ground)
• 1800 mlbeef broth (unsalted or low-sodium)
• 1 leafbay leaf
• 1 tspblack peppercorns
• 12 ggarlic (about 3 medium cloves, finely grated)
• 60 mlwhite wine vinegar (5% acidity)
• 2 tspdried mint (plus extra 1 tsp for serving)
• 1 tspAleppo pepper (optional, for gentle heat)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the dough by mixing the flour and salt in a bowl until evenly combined. Add the egg and warm water, then knead for 8–10 minutes until smooth, elastic, and no longer tacky.

2. 2

   Cover the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes at room temperature so the gluten relaxes. This rest makes rolling thin sheets much easier and helps the dumplings seal cleanly.

3. 3

   Prepare the filling by combining ground beef, grated onion, salt, black pepper, and 30 ml water in a bowl. Mix vigorously for 1–2 minutes until the mixture becomes slightly sticky, which helps it hold together inside tiny dumplings.

4. 4

   Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface into a thin sheet about 1 mm thick. Keep the remaining dough covered while you work so it does not dry out and crack at the edges.

5. 5

   Cut the sheet into 2.5 cm squares using a knife or pastry wheel. Aim for uniform squares so the dushbara cook at the same rate and look neat in the bowl.

6. 6

   Place about 2 g of filling (roughly a heaped 1/4 tsp) in the center of each square. Fold corner to corner into a triangle, press out air, then bring the two sharp corners together and pinch to form a tiny ‘ring’ dumpling.

7. 7

   Set formed dumplings on a floured tray in a single layer to prevent sticking. If your kitchen is warm, refrigerate the tray for 10 minutes so the dumplings firm up and keep their shape in the broth.

8. 8

   Bring the beef broth to a gentle boil in a pot and add bay leaf, peppercorns, and the measured salt. Reduce to a steady simmer for 10 minutes so the aromatics infuse without making the broth cloudy.

9. 9

   Add the dumplings in 3–4 batches, stirring gently after each addition so they do not clump at the bottom. Keep the soup at a simmer, not a hard boil, and cook for 8–10 minutes until the dumplings float and the meat is cooked through.

10. 10

    While the dumplings cook, make the vinegar-mint sauce by stirring together grated garlic, vinegar, water, dried mint, and Aleppo pepper if using. Let it stand for 10 minutes so the mint blooms and the garlic mellows into the vinegar.

11. 11

    Taste the broth and adjust only if needed with an additional 1–2 g salt, keeping the soup pleasantly light because the vinegar sauce adds punch. Remove the bay leaf before serving so it does not overpower the delicate dumplings.

12. 12

    Ladle the soup into warm bowls, aiming for a generous portion of dumplings in each serving. Serve with 20 ml vinegar sauce per bowl and a final 1/6 tsp dried mint sprinkled on top for the classic Azerbaijani finish.