Koufteh Tabrizi - Persian Meatball

An amazing dish that is both filling and full of nutrients and flavor.

This is a dish that originated from Tabriz, in North Iran. There are a varitey of ways this dish can be made. Originally, a whole chicken is placed in the middle and the ground meat mixture is then shaped around the chicken. They then wrap it in a cloth and cook it. The cloth is there to prevent the meat from falling apart. Another version, is with boiled eggs in the middle. Some cooks also add a variety of herbs to the ground meat mixture while others prefer to leave it out. It is said that the herbs make the meat more flavorful. Another version, yellow split peas are are added into the ground meat mixture, this is not added in the original version of the mixture. In the recipe below I have made this dish with the original ingredients that are used to make this dish, the only difference is that I chose not to use chicken in the middle but instead used boiled eggs.

The left over sauce that is left at the bottom of the pot after the koofteh's have cooked are served in a bowl on the side of the dish. This can be poured on top of the koofteh or most commonly, is used to make tilit on the side. To make tilit, bread (pita or sangak) is taken and torn into smaller pieces, then they are put inside the sauce and let to soak for about 2 minutes. This is then eaten along side the koofteh.

Recipe:

1/2 kilo ground meat without fat (extra lean)

250g chickpea flour

4 eggs

4 tbsp fried onions

1 tsp tumeric

4-5 boiled eggs

250g plums

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

salt and pepper to taste

saffron

barberries

In a bowl, add eggs, salt, pepper, chickpea flour, 1 glass of water, ground meat, with saffron that has been dissolved in water. Mix until well incorporated (If the mix is a little too hard, add more water). Mix the fried onions (save some for the middle of the koofteh) and turmeric with 5-6 cups of water, salt and pepper, into a big pot and leave to boil. Take mixture and form into a ball. Now, you want to make a little hole, and put a boiled egg in the middle with a tsp of fried onions, 1 or 2 plums, a tsp of walnuts and some barberries. Close the ground meat around these stuffings, and gently place the ball into the boiled mixture. Repeat the same until all meat is finished (I ended up with three balls). Leave to boil until thoroughly cooked.