Icli kofte

Ingredients

Shell

• 500 gfine bulgur
• 150 gsemolina
• 1onion, grated
• 1 tspsalt
• 1 tspground cumin
• 1 tsppepper paste
• warm water

Filling

• 400 gminced beef or lamb
• 2onions, finely chopped
• 100 gwalnuts, chopped
• 1 tbsppepper paste
• 1 tspallspice
• 1 tspblack pepper
• 1 tspground cumin
• 1 bunchparsley
• 2 tbspoil
• salt

To fry

• oil, for deep frying

To serve

• lemon wedges

Directions

1. Cover the fine bulgur with warm water just to the level of the grain and leave it 20 minutes to swell.
2. Use köftelik bulgur, the fine grade. Coarse bulgur will not bind and the shell splits apart in the oil.
3. Add the semolina, grated onion, salt, cumin and pepper paste, and knead the mixture for a full 15 to 20 minutes.
4. This kneading is the entire skill of the dish. It has to become a smooth, elastic, almost dough-like paste, and Turkish cooks work it wet-handed with the heel of the palm until it holds together like putty.
5. Keep wetting your hands with cold water throughout, which is what keeps it workable.
6. For the filling, fry the onions in oil until soft, add the meat and brown it, then the walnuts, pepper paste and spices, and cook until dry.
7. Cook the filling completely dry. Any moisture left in it turns to steam in the fryer and bursts the shell open.
8. Stir in the parsley and cool it completely.
9. Take a lump of bulgur paste the size of an egg and roll it into a ball between wet palms.
10. Push your index finger into it and turn the ball around the finger, thinning the wall as you go, opening it out into a hollow cone.
11. Get the walls as thin as you possibly can. A good içli köfte is judged by the thinness of its shell, and in Mardin and Antakya it is thin enough to see the filling through.
12. Fill the cavity with the cooled meat, pinch the opening closed, and shape the whole thing into a smooth pointed oval.
13. Seal it completely and smooth over every crack with a wet finger.
14. Heat the oil to 170°C (340°F) and fry a few at a time for 6 to 8 minutes, until deep brown.
15. Moderate heat rather than fierce. The shell needs time to cook through, and hot oil colours it long before the bulgur is done.
16. Drain and serve warm with lemon.
17. It belongs to the southeastern kibbeh tradition shared with Syria and Iraq, and Mardin, Antakya and Adıyaman each shape it differently.

Technique

• They freeze raw and are fried straight from frozen, with a couple of minutes added.
• Some regions boil them rather than frying, which is gentler and much older.
• The walnuts are not optional in the southeastern version, whatever recipes elsewhere say.

Substitutions

• Coarse bulgur ground finer in a food processor.
• Ready-made bulgur shells, sold frozen in Turkish shops.

Variations

• Boiled instead of fried.
• Baked, for a lighter version.
• The Syrian kibbeh, shaped as a longer torpedo.

History

Southeastern kibbeh tradition shared with Syria and Iraq; Mardin, Antakya and Adıyaman each shape it differently.

Frequently asked questions

What is Icli kofte?

Icli kofte is a snack from Turkey: bulgur shell stuffed with minced meat, onion and walnuts, then fried. Southeastern kibbeh tradition shared with Syria and Iraq; Mardin, Antakya and Adıyaman each shape it differently.

How long does Icli kofte take to make?

Icli kofte takes 1 hr of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 20. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Icli kofte?

Yes, within limits. Coarse bulgur ground finer in a food processor. Ready-made bulgur shells, sold frozen in Turkish shops.

What is the most important thing to get right in Icli kofte?

This kneading is the entire skill of the dish. It has to become a smooth, elastic, almost dough-like paste, and Turkish cooks work it wet-handed with the heel of the palm until it holds together like putty.