Kofta

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Kofta, köfte, kafta, kufta or kafteh are a family of Middle Eastern and South Asian meatballs or dumplings.

In their simplest form, they consist of balls of minced or ground meat — usually beef or lamb — mixed with spices and/or onions. The meat is often mixed with other ingredients such as rice, burghul, vegetables, or eggs to form a smooth paste. Koftas are sometimes made with fish or vegetables rather than meat, especially in India. They can be grilled, fried, steamed, poached, baked or marinated, and may be served with a rich spicy sauce. Variations occur in North Africa, the Mediterranean, Central Europe, Asia and India.

The word kofta is derived from Persian kūfta 'meatball'[1], and appears in some of the earliest Arabic cookbooks. These early recipes generally concern seasoned lamb rolled into orange-sized balls, and glazed with egg yolk and sometimes saffron. This method was taken to the west and is referred to as gilding, or endoring. Many regional variations exist, perhaps the largest being the Iranian koofteh Tabrizi, with an average diameter of 20cm (8").[2]

Koftas in South Asian cuisine are normally cooked in a spicy curry and sometimes with whole pre-boiled eggs. Sometimes the eggs are encased in a layer of the spicy kofta meat so that the final product resembles an Indian Scotch egg. These kofta dishes are very popular in South Asian families and are available widely from many Indian restaurants. In Bengal, a region of East India, Koftas are made with prawns, fish, green bananas, cabbage, as well as minced goat meat.

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[edit] Name

  • in Arab countries, kufta' (كفته) is usually shaped into cigar-shaped cylinders.
  • in Turkey, köfte is a very popular food item. According to recent research done by a private food company, there were 291 different kinds of köfte in the country.[3]
  • in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Croatia, they are called ćufteta (ћуфтета) (singular ćufte (ћуфте)).
  • in Bulgaria, they are called kyufteta (кюфтета) (singular kyufte (кюфте)).
  • in Greece, they are called keftedes (singular keftes).
  • in Romania, they are called chiftele (singular chiftea).
  • in Armenia, they are called kyufta (singular is identical to the plural).
  • in Albania, they are called qoftë.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Alan S. Kaye, "Persian loanwords in English", English Today 20:20-24 (2004), DOI:10.1017/S0266078404004043.
  2. ^ Oxford Companion to Food, s.v. kofta
  3. ^ Turkish Newspaper Article

[edit] External links

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