Stuffed Bulgur Kofte Video

Stuffed Bulgur Kofte from zerrin gunaydin on Vimeo.

NOTE: Do not forget to turn on the volume to hear two Turkish folk songs which I love a lot.

icli kofte
icli kofte is one of the most special dishes of Turkish cuisine as it’s not so easy to make it. One should really want it and believe in herself to be successful. To reach the best result, you should try making it more than once. But when you taste it once, you will absoultely see that it is worth.

icli kofte is especially made in the Southern part of Turkey. It has some varieties according to the area it is made. Some people stuff it with just ground meat while in some places it can’t be called icli kofte without walnuts in its filling. In some places, people put ground meat even in its dough but in some areas this one is thought to be heavy, so it’s not prefered. Some people also use meat with its grease for its filling, but again others think that it makes the dish too heavy and fattening. Some people fry these koftes whereas others boil them in hot water. In this recipe you will read the icli kofte made in city of Tarsus, with a mixture of walnuts and ground meat for filling, no grease in it, no meat in its dough and boiled koftes.

As it is a very special dish, when people have important guests for dinner, they make icli kofte for their guests to show how they are important for the house owner. This important guests may be the parents of their daughter-in-law or son-in-law. It is very important in our culture to host such guests with dishes which are difficult to make. You can not just serve a delicious spaghetti to these guests. It means you don’t give enough importance to them. It is the same for a newly wed couple. If they invite especially the husband’s parents, the daughter-in-law must show how important they are by making difficult dishes. Also, if we have guests from a far away city, we generally make icli kofte. As you understand, this is not an ordinary dish, so it is always eaten with more than two people. Noone prefers eating it alone or with just wife and husband. When families get together, they make it together and eat together.

In Turkey, women love to help each other in making such difficult dishes. You may call your friend or neighbor to make it together, she will gladly accept. You make it together for your guests and when your helpful neighbor is leaving, you give her a bowl of what you prepeared together as a thanking.

In the past, there was a funny tradition about this difficult but tasty dish. Women would put a piece of gold in one of these stuffed bulgur koftes, but tell noone. Even they themselves wouldn’t know which kofte had the gold. And while eating, everyone would wonder the lucky person who would have the gold in his or her kofte. We still have this tradition in some areas. Similar to this one, but less dangerous for our teeth, people now put a chickpea to surprise their guests. As you see, eating icli kofte becomes a funny activity entertaining everyone.

Today most restaurants serve icli kofte as an appetizer, but they don’t taste as good as homemade ones. They are served cold and dry, but it must be warm enough to feel its perfect taste.

Ingredients

For its filling:
-    1 kg (2 lb) ground meat (beef), lean
-    1 kg (2 lb) onion, finely chopped
-    125 gr (4 oz) margarine or butter
-    4 tbsp olive oil
-    1 cup crumbled walnuts
-    2 tsp cumin
-    2 tsp black pepper
-    2 tsp paprika powder
-    2 tsp thyme
-    3 tsp salt
-    1/2 tbsp pepper paste
-    ½ cup parsley, finely chopped
-    2 green hot pepper, finely chopped

For its dough:
-    2 cups ground bulgur
-    1 cup semolina
-    1 cup flour
-    2  cups water
-    2 eggs
-    ½ tbsp pepper paste
-    2 tsp cumin
-    2 tsp salt
-    2 tsp black pepper
-    2 tsp paprika powder

For boiling:
-    1 lemon
-    1 tsp salt
-    A pot of water

First, we prepare its filling mixture so that we have enough time to let it cool. This is so important as we can’t stuff the dough balls with the mixture if it’s still warm. It must get thicker while waiting, that’s why we use margarine or butter. If you use any kind of oil, you have difficulty in stuffing.

Put ground meat in a pot and cook it over medium heat until it absorbs the water it releases. Then add chopped onion and stir occasionally. Add margarine or butter into it and stir. When the margarine melts and is absorbed, add salt and 4 tbsp olive oil. Put pepper paste and stir. When it is completely combined, add chopped parsley and green hot pepper. Season it with cumin, black pepper, paprika powder, thyme. Then add a cup of walnut and stir. Take it from the heat, do not let parsley and green pepper cook well. Now stir it to combine all well. Let it cool. The wait may be longer than 2 hours as the mixture must be cold and thick enough. If you like, you can prepare this filling mixture overnight.

Now it’s time for the dough. Put bulgur in a tray and soak it with cold water. Then put semolina in the same tray seperately and soak it as well. 2 cups of water is enough for both of them. Cover the tray and wait for about 15 minutes. After this time, season it with the spices. Then break the eggs. Combine them. And finally, put flour and knead it well.

Take a piece of dough, bigger than a walnut. Shape it in your hand. Start pressing your thumb into this piece of dough and turn it around itself to shape. This shell should be as thin as you can make. Then put 1 tbsp of the filling mixture into this shape and close the shape again with your hands. (See the video.) Your hands must be wet to shape the dough, so put a bowl of cold water near you to wet your hands occasionally while shaping it.

After you finish all the dough, heat water in a pot and bring it to boil. Pour lemon juice and add 1 tsp salt into the water. This will protect the koftes to lose their shapes. Boil them about 10 minutes. when they are cooked, all of them starts to float in the boiling water. You can also check if it is cooked with a special method. Take one of them on a plate, press the slotted spoon on the kofte gently (See the video.)If you hear the kofte is whispering when you press, it is done. If you don’t hear this sound, let it boil a few minutes more.

As the process of making icli kofte is difficult and long, I wanted to show you the steps of it in this video. Luckily mom and dad visited us and we had the reason for making icli kofte to celebrate their visit. I learnt how to make icli kofte from mom, the greatest cook I’ve seen. So in this video she is making icli kofte and I helped her. It would be so hard for me without her. When we were making it, dad was around us waiting for the time he would eat one. At last, we finished and we served it to dad. You see how he enjoyed his lunch. We of course use fork and knife in everyday life, but traditionally people eat icli kofte with hands. You can also squeeze lemon on each kofte while eating.

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Bulgur Pilaf with Green Lentil

Mercimekli Bulgur Pilavi
This pilaf is another rare recipe even in our country. So many people don’t know this pilaf, they generally cook tehm seperately, bulgur pilaf near green lentil stew. I love them, but I also love them combined in the form of a pilaf. If you have a kind of stew, this pilaf will be a perfect side dish.

Ingredients
•    1 cup bulgur
•    ¼ cup green lentil, boiled
•    2 cups water
•    2 green pepper, 1 onion
•    2 tbsp butter
•    1 tbsp olive oil
•    1 tsp black pepper
•    2 tsp salt
•    ½ tsp cinnamon

Melt the butter in a pan and add olive oil. Saute chopped  green pepper  and onion until soft, then add bulgur and boiled green lentil in it. Saute them for 5 minutes until bulgur gets crispy. Then pour water and sprinkle salt, black pepper and cinnamon in it and stir. Cover the pan and bring the heat to the lowest. When all the water’s gone, let it rest.

To serve it, put some in a small bowl and reverse it on a plate. You can garnish it with fresh dill or parsley. And if you have a bowl of homemade yogurt near it, you enjoy it more.

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Lentil Balls

This special appetizer is another popular dish among Turkish women. Just like Kisir, it is an  indispensable taste of their gatherings in the afternoon. Of course it doesn’t mean that men doesn’t love lentil balls. Thay also love it as a snack. But maybe because generally women meet at a friend’s house in the afternoons, and make it together, lentil balls are more popular among them.

As Kisir and Lentil Balls are both made of bulgur (pounded wheat), they are alternatives for each other. And it is both a tradition and a must to serve tea with or after them. Bulgur easily makes you full and if you can not dominate your appetite and eat much, you may feel bad, have some trouble with your stomach. In this case, tea is your life saver. It definitely relaxes your stomach.

Unlike Kisir, lentil balls have lentils in its ingredients besides bulgur. You’ll taste the perfect combination of bulgur and red lentil with these lentil balls. There are two types of bulgur; small grain and big grain. Bulgur with big grain is for pilaf. We need bulgur with small grain here just like kisir.

Ingredients (servings: 4)
•    1 cup red lentil
•    2 cups bulgur
•    3 cups water
•    3 tsp salt
•    3 tsp cumin
•    1 tsp red pepper flaes
•    1 tbsp tomato or red pepper paste
•    1 tea cup olive oil
•    1 big onion, diced
•    3 scallions, chopped thin
•    Half bunch of parsley, minced
•    Lettuce and lemon for serving

Clean the lentil, wash it and drain. Pour 3 cups water in a pot, add 1 tsp salt and the lentil in it. Boil it over medium heat until  tender (about 20 or 30 minutes). Lentils should be easily mashed after boiled. Take the pot from fire.

Add 2 cups bulgur into the same pot, while it is still hot. Combine it with bulgur and put the lid on. Wait it for 15 minutes until bulgur absorbs all the water in the pot. Then transfer this mixture in a large tray.

Saute the finely chopped onion in olive oil until golden brown. Add pepper paste, 3 tsp cumin and red pepper flakes into it. Saute it for a few minutes more.

Pour the sauted onion into the lentil – bulgur mixture. Add 2 tsp salt and start to knead it. They should be combined very well. But be careful, if it’s too hot to knead with hands, just start mixing it with a spoon and then when it reaches the heat enough to touch, knead it with hands for about ten minutes. Then add finely chopped scallion and parsley into it, knead it just to combine these greens into it, do not work on it much.

To serve it, take a piece from the mixture and shape it in your palm (one hand is enough) in two or three movements. You’ll see a nice shape with your finger marks on them. Put some leaves of fresh lettuce and place these lentil balls on it. Serve it with lemon slices.

Note: There is a special style of eating these balls. Put one of it in a lettuce leaf, squeeze lemon on it and roll. Now you can have a bite and want more.

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Balls with Garlic

There was a feast in our kitchen today. Mom is here! She came from Tarsus/Mersin this morning. And of course I was retired from cooking for this first day. I must admit that most of the things I know about cooking are from mom. She loves cooking and she loves teaching what she knows. Balls with garlic (Sarmsaklı köfte) is another dish from my childhood.  As mom knows how to make me happy, she makes it whenever she visits us.  So today she made it and I took the photos. Here is mom’s recipe and I’d like to thank her again.

Ingredients

For its dough:
•    4 coffee cups pounded wheat (bulgur)
•    4 tbsp semolina
•    4 tbsp flour
•    1 egg
•    1 tbsp pepper paste
•    1 tsp cumin
•    1 tsp red pepper flakes
•    1 tsp salt
•    1 tsp black pepper
•    1 water glass warm water

For its boiling

1 liter water, salt and half lemon.

For its sauce:
•    1 head of garlic, mashed
•    4 tomatoes, grated
•    Half bunch of parsley, minced
•    1 coffee cup olive oil
•    1 tsp cumin
•    1 tsp black pepper
•    1 tsp red pepper flakes
•    1 tbsp pepper (or tomato) paste
•    1 lemon
•    1 tsp salt

Soak pounded wheat and semolina with warm water and wait 10 minutes. They should absorb all the water. Add the spices and the egg into it. Then knead it well. You can sprinkle little water while kneading. Now add flour and continue kneading. When the flour disappears in the dough, it’s finished.

Take a piece from the dough as big as an egg and shape it like a thick stick in your hands. You can see it in the picture.

Then take pieces from this thick stick as big as a hazelnut and roll it in your hands. Then gently press on this small ball with your finger. Wet your hands occasionally, or you can’t shape the dough. Do the same until all the dough finishes.

Put one liter water in a large pot. Add salt and juice of half lemon. When it boils, put the balls into it. Cook them without stirring (maximum 15 minutes). Do not overcook them. When the balls get as soft as pasta, it’s cooked.

Take the pot from fire and drain. Put the balls on a service plate.

To prepare its sauce,  put grated tomatoes in a large skillet. Cook it until it becomes thick enough. Add olive oil, pepper paste, salt and other spices in it. Finally add mashed garlic, stir it a few minutes and take it from fire. Put the minced parsley in this sauce and mix it (if you like, you may not combine the parsley with the sauce but sprinkle on the balls after the sauce).

Now drop some sauce on the balls with a spoon. And serve it with lemon slices, pickles and garden cress.

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Lets Gather (for Kisir)

If a few Turkish women meet at a friend’s house, it’s unavoidable for them to make this delicious pounded wheat (bulgur) dish. It’s called KISIR.

I don’t know why or what makes this dish so popular, so precious, but I haven’t met a Turkish woman who refuses kisir. Even the idea of making kisir is enough to excite them. Of course, it’s not a woman’s dish (if there is such a classification…), there are a lot of men who are big fans of it, as well. But still, it has a different role in women’s life in Turkey. It’s the reason for meeting, a tasty way of saying “welcome” to new neighbors, and so on. Each may create their own reason. The main ingredient of kisir is bulgur (pounded wheat) and the amount of it depends on the number of people there. If there are 3 people, 3 cups bulgur is enough. However, women always add one more cup as they think that an unexpected guest may come just when they start to eat.

In fact, it’s one of those easy to prepare dishes. It is ready to eat in just 15 or 20 minutes. Kisir is not a main dish, but not a side dish either. It can be considered as a kind of appetizer which can be eaten at any time. So here are the ingredients.

Ingredients (serving: 2)
•    2 cups bulgur ( take your unexpected guests in consideration)
•    1 onion
•    3 cloves garlic
•    Half bunch of parsley
•    Half bunch of scallion
•    1 tomato
•    1 cucumber
•    ½ cup lemon juice
•    1 tbsp pepper (or tomato) paste
•    Olive oil
•    Salt
•    Cumin
•    Dried mint
•    Red pepper flakes
•    Hot water
•    ½ cup olive oil
•    2 tbsp sour pomegranate souce

Put bulgur in a large bowl. Put salt, cumin, dried mint and pepper flakes (1 tsp of each) on it. Then pour hot water in the bowl until the surface of bulgur. Cover it with a piece of cloth or with a lid and let it to be brewed until bulgur is softened. About 10 minutes will be ok.

Meanwhile, you can prepare the other ingredients. Chop garlic, parsley, scallion, tomato, cucumber In a large bowl and add lemon juice in it. Put it aside.

Dice the onion and saute it in olive oil until golden, add tomato/pepper paste in it and stir just one minute.

Now you will combine everything. First, check your soaked bulgur if it’s softened enough. If it’s ok, add sauted onion in it and mix them together with a spoon. Add sour pomegranate sauce in it and mix it (if you don’t have this souce, increase the amount of lemon juice). Then add all chopped vegeables with lemon juice. Mix it for the last time and that’s it! You can serve it with some leaves of lettuce and pepper pickles.

Enjoy it with your friends. Never alone!

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