Chef Flower's Turkish Cypriot Fried Meatballs - Kibrisli Kofte /

Chef floWer's Note:

Kofte's is a meatball which is native to Cyprus, Turkey and some middle east regions. They came in all shapes, sizes and different flavours. This recipe is my mothers recipe, she normally uses beef but since I don't eat beef she use chicken if I'm coming over. We serve them with Turkish Cacik (We make the exact recipe) and a green salad or parsley salad. The cinnamon, mint, salt and black pepper are not the exact measurements as mum uses her hand to measure anything, feel free to add more but only to your taste.

• Total Time: 2 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 2 hrs
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 1 kg ground chicken or 1 kg minced chicken or 1 kg minced beef or 1 kg ground beef
• 1 1/2 kg potatoes, peeled and finely grated
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 egg, whisked (optional)
• 150 g flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 teaspoons dried mint, grounded
• 1 1/8 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, to taste
• vegetable oil, for frying

Directions:

1. Peel and finely grate potatoes, place them in a bowl and sprinkle 1/8 teaspoon salt, set aside.
2. In a separate large bowl, place ground/minced chicken or beef, onion, parsley, egg, cinnamon, mint, salt and black pepper.
3. Potatoes have excess liquids and with this recipe you need to remove all the excess liquids. In a large strainer, kneed all liquids out of the grated potatoes with only leaving the potatoes flesh.
4. Then add the potato with the rest of the ingredients and mix them together. If the mixture is a little sticky you may need to add more potatoes.
5. With your hand mould the kofte into a small long patty about 5cm x 2cm (2 inch x 1/2 inch) then place them on a tray, repeat this until all the mixture is finish. When placing the kofte’s on a tray do not allow them to touch each other as they may stick together.
6. Heat oil in a frying pan or deep fryer add kofte one by one in the pan without touching each other. Flip them over once they are brown and then let the other side brown. Remove onto serving platter, then repeat this step until all kofte's are finished, then serve.
7. Could be served as finger food, entree or a main dish with Turkish Cacik (yoghurt sauce) and garden salad.

Reviews

[JustJanS]

We just loved these thanks Chef Flower! I made a third of the recipe and have to say while it is an extremely generous serve for two, the pair of us managed to eat them all by convincing ourselves it was really our meat AND potatoes so not too naughty! I didn't bother with the egg (third of an egg seemed too hard to do) so they were very delicate to handle-this made them also veyr light and tender so I don't know if I would use the egg when making a full batch. I made the cacik as instructed and loved the two together.

[Mellowpuff]

These were nice. I made up 2 batches: half chicken and half beef, as I had both in the fridge. We would definitely choose the beef over the chicken - the chicken seemed to be lacking in flavour. The potato is a nice change, but it overall it was quite time consuming & messy, so I don't think I'd make them again. Breadcrumbs could be an idea (^0^)

[The Flying Chef]

We loved these I served them with Chef floWer Savoury Couscous and with her suggestion of Turkish Cacik. It was an absolutely delicious meal and the whole family agreed. I made them a little fatter as I was serving as a main meal so it made for a little quicker preparation. I would definitely make these as finger foods at a party they would go down a treat. I made them with chicken and I know now after tasting this would definitely be my preference over beef. Thanks for another great recipe Chef floWer.