Koufteh Ghelgheli Recipe - Persian Meatballs
Servings: 3 people
Ingredients
- 400 g Minced beef or veal
- 2 Onions
- 2 tbsp Chickpea flour or wheat flour
- 1 Egg small or medium-sized
- Turmeric, blackpepper, and salt
- Plums or walnuts for the inside of meatballs (optional)
- 2 cups Rice
Instructions
- Grate the onions: Peel and finely grate the onions, then squeeze the water out of the them.
- Combine minced meat with onion, flour, egg, spices and salt: Stir the mixture up and knead it well. In order to firm up the meat and make its texture more consistent, pound it firmly against the bottom of the pan several times. Eventually, the dough should not stick to the hands and should be easily rounded.
- Make round meatballs: Form round meatballs by rolling the meat between your hands. You can also fill your meatballs with chopped walnuts or dried plums. If you're making plum-stuffed meatballs, press the meat lightly to fill the gaps and create a more solid meatball.
- Fry the meatballs: Pour oil in a non-stick pan and let it heat well. Gently place the meatballs inside and let them cook, without touching them for several seconds, then shake the frying pan continuously until the meatballs are browned on all sides. As soon as you realize that meatballs will not stick to the dish, you can return them with a spoon -- but don’t seal the pot yet
- Prepare the tomato sauce: In a skillet, sauté chopped onion in oil, then stir in tomato paste. Cook for several seconds, then pour in water. About 4 cups of water are enough.
- Put the meatballs in the sauce: When the sauce begins to boil, add the meatballs. Do so one at a time, gently placing them into the saucepan. If you add them suddenly, they could crack or break. It’s important not to close the pot lid completely and leave it half open. It takes about 50 minutes for the meatballs to be well-cooked. The size of the meatballs also affects baking time: smaller ones cook faster.
- Steam rice in a separate pot. I have covered the subject of rice in another recipe entitled “Persian Rice with Bread tahdig.”
- Serve the meatballs with rice or bread. And don't forget the fresh veggies!
Notes
Important tips about cooking Persian meatballs
- It is advised to let the dough rest before making meatballs. For example, it should be left at room temperature or in the refrigerator for about an hour beforehand.
- Knead the meatballs thoroughly. This will ensure that the final product have cohesive and consistent texture.
- Persian meatballs can also be prepared without eggs and flour; the dish is easier to make that way. Eggs and flour, however, do add cohesion and texture to the meatballs.
- If the ingredients are loose, add a bit of flour. You may won't need any flour if the meat is already sticking together. Use flour sparingly, as too much binding can make meatballs dry when fried.
- Frying the meatballs in oil before adding them to the tomato sauce ensures that they will maintain their shape during cooking. Also, this method highlights the taste of the raw meat. Alternatively, you may want to skip this step and add your raw meatballs directly to the sauce.
- Soak dried plums in water for half an hour, then pat them dry before proceeding with the recipe. If the plums are still wet, your meatballs will crack when you cook them.
- Persian meatballs can be jazzed up by dried herbs including tarragon, savory, parsley, mint or coriander. Use them at your discretion; they add a lovely aromatic tang to the meatballs.
- You can substitute tomato paste with a few grated tomatoes, just make sure that the tomatoes are roasted well to evaporate much of the water content. The tomatoes should be thickened to a paste-like consistency. This will give your food an extra boost of flavor.