Arook are often described as Middle Eastern hamburgers but they're so much more! These tasty meat patties have a crispy outside texture and a tender, flavorful center. Enjoy them as finger foods or stuff them in Middle Eastern bread to make a sandwich. This arook recipe yields 12 medium-sized patties.
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Arook are made with ground beef, flour, eggs, minced veggies, herbs, and spices. I think a more fitting name for them might be meat pancakes. They have a texture somewhat similar to pancakes because eggs and flour are mixed in with the ground meat and veggies.
As with many Middle Eastern recipes, their name is spelled in a variety of ways including urouk, oorook, and uruq.
In Iraq, they are a popular street food sold by street vendors. However, they are also prepared by the average housewife, and are found on most restaurant menus!
The arook are sold nestled in pita bread or samoon (Iraqi sandwich bread) with fried slices of eggplant. Pickled mangoes (Amba) or torshi are also commonly added to the hearty sandwich, which is somewhat similar to an Israeli Sabich Sandwich, minus the falafel!
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😍 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- This arook recipe is not only delicious, but it's also high in protein, with 8 grams of protein per patty!
- The meat patties are quite filling and make a great grab-and-go snack!
- There are only 6 grams of carbs in each patty.
- The arook "dough" can be prepared ahead of time and fried right before you serve them.
- These beef patties also freeze well and can be reheated in a pan, microwave, or an air fryer!
🔖 Ingredients & Substitutions
- Meat: One pound of ground beef, 10-20% fat content. Feel free to use other meat including ground turkey, chicken, and even venison. I actually used ground elk to make mine!
- Veggies: You will need an onion, tomato, bell pepper, and garlic. Garlic isn't traditional, but I think it complements this recipe. I also added one Serrano pepper, since we prefer them spicy. Scallions would also be a great addition!
- Spices: Sea salt, black pepper, baharat spice mix (may substitute with allspice), curry powder, and cayenne pepper (optional).
- Herbs: Italian parsley, cilantro, or a combination of the two.
- Eggs: Two eggs to bind the meat mixture.
- Other: All-purpose flour and baking powder. You can use gluten-free flour if you need to!
- Oil: I like to fry the patties in either avocado oil or olive oil.
*Find the full list of ingredients in the recipe card.
🥙 How to Make Arook Meat Patties
Step 1: Add ground beef to a large bowl. Chop parsley and the other prepared veggies and add them to the same bowl.
Step 2: In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and spices then add to the meat mixture.
Step 3: Whisk eggs and water in a small bowl and pour over the arook ingredients. Mix with your hands until all the ingredients are fully incorporated.
Pro Tip: The mixture will be wet and sticky, wearing gloves is recommended!
Step 4: Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a small skillet over low-medium heat. Add ⅓ cup arook mixture to the pan. Spread with the back of a wooden spoon or spatula to make a hamburger-sized patty. Fry for 1½ to 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown and cooked through.
Step 5: Fry only as many arook as you plan on eating (adding more oil as necessary) as they are much better fresh. Drain on paper towels to remove excess grease and serve while piping hot.
🍽 What to Serve with Arook
Serve arook in pita bread or samoon with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickled mangoes, or pickled turnips. Sometimes fried eggplant strips are also added. The flavors of this classic Iraqi sandwich go so well together!
For a lower carb option, you can serve the arook with an Assyrian salad on the side.
♨️ Air Fried Arook
If you want a healthier way of cooking the arook and reducing the fat and calories, you're in luck! Recently, I perfected making air-fried arook and I'm never going back to fried! Here's what you need to know...
Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees F.
Spray a square piece of aluminum foil (the size of your air fryer basket) with non-stick cooking spray. Spread ⅓ cup of arook mixture on the foil until it's about the size of a hamburger.
Give the arook a quick spritz of oil. Air fry for 3 minutes, then flip to the other side and air fry for 3 minutes more. Enjoy your air fried arook!
Pro Tip: Air fried potatoes have 139 calories, 6 grams of carbs, 9 grams of fat, and 8 grams of protein.
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
The typical arook recipe is made with a mixture of ground beef, eggs, diced veggies, herbs, and a variety of spices. Flour and baking powder are also added which give the arook a pancake-like texture.
Vegetable arook are a vegetarian version of the traditional meat arook. They're made with a mixture of veggies, eggs, flour, and spices, but instead of meat, fine bulgur is added. They are usually enjoyed while fasting for various religious holidays, and on Wednesdays and Fridays, when fasting from meat.
Arook are considered finger foods by many. You can eat them on the go, or serve them in a pita, flatbread, or samoon (Middle Eastern sandwich bread).
An average-sized arook has approximately 217 calories, 6 grams of carbs, and 8 grams of protein.
👩🏼🍳 Pro Tips
- If you want to cut down on carbs, you can reduce the amount of flour to ⅓ cup and serve the meat patties with a salad instead of in a sandwich. Just don't reduce it any further because the flour helps to bind the patties. You'll also need to reduce the amount of water to ⅓ cup.
- Reducing the flour should not affect the taste, but might affect the texture, and there is a possibility that the patties may fall apart as you fry them.
- Any leftover cooked arook can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Once cooked, arook can also be frozen in freezer bags and reheated in the microwave, a pan, or an air fryer.
- Unlike burger patties, arook don't need to be perfectly rounded and often have irregular edges since they're dropped by the spoonfuls into the hot oil.
🥘 More Middle Eastern Recipes
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📖 Recipe
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Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Add ground beef to a large bowl. Chop parsley and the other prepared veggies and add them to the same bowl.
- In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and spices then add to the meat mixture.
- Whisk eggs and water in a small bowl and pour over arook ingredients. Mix with your hands until all the ingredients are fully incorporated. The mixture will be wet and sticky, wearing gloves is recommended!
- Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a small skillet over low-medium heat. Add ⅓ cup arook mixture to the pan. Spread with the back of a wooden spoon or spatula to make a hamburger-sized patty. Fry for 1½ to 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown and cooked through.
- Fry only as many arook as you plan on eating (adding more oil as necessary) as they are much better fresh. Drain on paper towels to remove excess grease and serve while piping hot.
Nutrition
Notes
- If you want to cut down on carbs, you can reduce the amount of flour to ⅓ cup and serve the meat patties with a salad instead of in a sandwich. Just don't reduce it any further because the flour helps to bind the patties. You'll also need to reduce the amount of water you add to ⅓ cup.
- Reducing the flour should not affect the taste but might affect the texture and there is a possibility that the patties may fall apart as you fry them.
- Any leftover cooked arook can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Once cooked, arook can also be frozen in freezer bags and reheated in the microwave, a pan, or an air fryer.
- Unlike burger patties, arook don't need to be perfectly rounded and often have irregular edges since they're dropped by the spoonfuls into the hot oil.
Julia says
I love how every culture has their own meatball/patty recipe. This one sounds delicious with all the middle eastern spices! Baharat is such an underrated spice mix
Hilda Sterner says
You’re absolutely right, Julia, almost every culture has its own version of meatballs or patties, and that’s part of what makes them so fun! I agree about baharat too… it doesn’t get nearly the love it deserves. Thanks so much! 😊
Autumn Thomas says
my husband is Iraqi, and I'm always trying to find new recipes to try from his country. this arouq recipe was delicious!!! I am the kind of person who hates their own cooking, even if it's good and others love it. let me tell you I loved it!!! thank you!!!
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Autumn, that's so awesome to hear, thank you so much for the review! 😍
Joycie says
My husband and I have loved this recipe. I am allergic to beef, so we use ground turkey or chicken. Sometimes I also alter the veggies in it depending what we have in the fridge or garden. The flavors are delicious! I often serve it with rice.
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Joycie, Thank you so much for your sweet review. I'm so happy that you found a way to modify the recipe so that you can enjoy it together. God Bless!