Shakriyeh

Shakriyeh

Shakriyeh with vermicelli rice
Alternative names	Laban emmo
Type	Stew
Course	Main
Place of origin	Levant
Associated cuisine	Levantine cuisine
Main ingredients	Lamb, yogurt

Shakriyeh (Arabic: شاكرية, also known as "laban emmo") is a traditional Levantine stew of lamb cooked in yogurt, often served with Arabic rice.¹²

The origin of the name shakriyeh is disputed, the word shakriyeh itself is derived from the Arabic word for "to thank" (ushkur, أشكر).²³ The name shakriyeh is believed to have been derived from the first name "shakir" (شاكر), with the person it was named after remaining unknown.³⁴ Other sources disregard this theory and attribute an Aramaic origin to the word.⁵ Common spellings include shakriyyeh and shakriya.⁶⁷

The name laban emmo (Arabic: لبن امه, also spelled laban ummo) is common in some regions, such as Lebanon,⁸⁴³ the name translates to "his mother's milk", implying that the lamb meat is to be cooked in the lambs own mothers milk,⁹¹⁰ according to Syrian historian Khayr al-Din al-Asadi, it is a reference to the 10 commandments in Jewish doctrine.⁴ The name may laban emmo may refer to shakriyeh or a specific variety of it.¹⁰

The dish is traditionally prepared by cooking lamb meat in laban rayeb with aromatics and spices, often topped with garlic, and served with vermicelli rice.^11112213 Some varieties use chicken in place of lamb.¹⁴⁶ Despite the similarity to mansaf, it does not use jameed.¹⁵¹⁶

Arman (أرمان) is a Syrian dish similar to shakriyeh made by cooking the meat in a pan before adding it to the stew.⁴¹⁷¹⁸

Recipes for meat cooked in yogurt can be found in medieval Arabic cookbooks, according to author Claudia Roden, 10th century poet Badi' al-Zaman al-Hamadani wrote a story about such a dish called madira (مضيرة).⁹¹⁹

Shakriyeh is attested as early as the 19th century; Lebanese scholar Butrus al-Bustani defined shakriyeh in his 1867 dictionary titled Kitāb Muḥīṭ al-muḥīṭ as "a dish of meat cooked in yogurt".²⁰

Shakriyeh is typically cooked to celebrate special occasions.²²¹ Muslims traditionally cook shakriyeh on Eid al-Fitr as well as Eid al-Adha,²¹²² and on the first day of Ramadan,²³¹²¹¹ and Christians prepare it on Christmas.²¹ Shakriyeh and similar Levantine yogurt stews are most common during spring.⁸ The availability of the ingredients, mainly meat and dairy, was impacted negatively by the Syrian civil war.¹²

Shakriyeh features in several traditional Syrian proverbs and poems.⁴¹¹ It is associated with other Levantine festive yogurt dishes, like shishbarak, kibbeh labaniyyeh, sheikh al-mahshi, among others.²⁴²³¹¹