Let me start by saying this isn’t a classic içli köfte recipe. Not everyone keeps the special extra-fine bulgur for it (sefer kitel) at home. And, I’ll confess, eating four or five of my favorite fried version in one sitting feels heavy!
So here is how to make içli köfte with ordinary fine bulgur, boiled, with a little play in the filling. There’s a vegetarian alternative at the end, too.
Recipe
Easy Boiled İçli Köfte
- Cook5–7 min · boiled
Ingredients
Filling
- 750 g onions, chopped
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp Turkish red pepper paste
- 500 g beef brisket, ground once
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
- 1 clove, ground
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp cumin, freshly ground
- 1 lemon, juice and grated zest
Shell
- 300 g fine bulgur (for çiğ köfte or kısır)
- 400 g boiling water
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp Aleppo pepper flakes
For boiling
- water
- ½ lemon
Equipment
Chopping board, knife, frying pan, spoon, mixing bowl (glass or metal), cling film, pot, slotted spoon, small bowl of water, plate for resting, serving plate
Method
- Start with the filling, since it needs to cool. Heat a pan over medium-high, add the olive oil and then the onions, and sauté for about 30 minutes, until caramelized.
- Add the meat and the pepper paste and cook for 10 more minutes, stirring now and then.
- Add the salt and all the spices and cook for 5 minutes more. Turn off the heat and let it cool; once cool, stir in the lemon juice and zest.
- For the shell, put the bulgur in the mixing bowl, pour over the boiling water, cover with cling film and leave for 30 minutes.
- While the softened bulgur is still warm, work it with your hands for a few minutes to let the steam out.
- Once it has cooled, add the eggs, salt and pepper flakes and knead for 10 minutes, or until it turns into a smooth paste.
- Divide the shell mixture into balls of whatever size you like; I make mine about the size of a green plum.
- Dip your hands in the bowl of water and press each ball into a flat disc. Mine were about 4 mm thick and 6 cm across.
- Put a heaped dessert spoon (about 2 tsp) of filling in the middle, fold the edges together and seal into full half-moons. If that’s fiddly, stuffed round balls work too.
- Don’t panic if the shell cracks: wet your fingers and rub the crack, and the paste will close it up.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and drop in the half lemon without squeezing it.
- Add the köfte to the boiling water; they will sink at first. When they float to the top, after 5–7 minutes, they’re done. Lift them out with a slotted spoon, rest them on a plate for 5 minutes, then transfer to a serving plate.
Notes
- Vegetarian alternative: instead of the meat filling, make one with the same seasonings and walnuts, mushrooms, leeks and carrots.
Measurement converter →Tap an ingredient to tick it off.
Cover photo: NilayOrnek.com
