Torpedo-shaped bulgur-shell içli köfte with yogurt and tomato

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İçli Köfte (Stuffed Bulgur & Meat Croquettes)

Name: İçli Köfte (Stuffed Bulgur & Meat Croquettes)
Total time: 2 h
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Turkish
Ingredients: 300 g Fine bulgur (köftelik), for the shell; 300 ml Hot water; 2 tbsp (30 ml) Plain flour; 2 tbsp (30 ml) Semolina (fine); 1 tbsp (15 ml) Tomato paste (for the shell); 1 tsp (5 ml) Turkish red pepper flakes (for the shell); 1 tsp (5 ml) Salt (for the shell); 250 g Ground beef or lamb (for the filling); 1 Onion, finely chopped; 60 g Walnuts, chopped; 2 tbsp (30 ml) Olive oil (for the filling); 1 tsp (5 ml) Ground cumin; 0.5 tsp (2.5 ml) Ground cinnamon; 1 tsp (5 ml) Turkish red pepper flakes (for the filling); 1 tsp (5 ml) Salt (for the filling); 500 ml Oil, for deep-frying; Flat-leaf parsley

A thin, elastic shell of fine bulgur moulded into a hollow egg, filled with spiced minced meat and walnuts, then deep-fried until dark, crisp and crackling — Türkiye's take on kibbeh.

Fonte

Ricetta di Turkish home kitchens · 🏺 Tradizionale · Household and neighbourhood cooking carried across Türkiye — no single author owns these dishes

Turkish · traditional dish — An ownerless traditional dish, so no individual cook is credited. The cited article documents kibbeh as a bulgur-and-minced-meat croquette of the eastern Mediterranean, of which içli köfte is the Turkish stuffed, deep-fried form. Quantities and step wording here are this book's own.

Background on Wikipedia ↗

Watch it being made · 3 videos

Turkish Food Travel Two Nations Recipes Ceren Gokpinar

⏱ 120 min🍽 6 porzioni🔥 340 kcal🇹🇷 Turchia🌶️

HalalSenza latticini

Passaggi

Make the filling first: heat the olive oil in a pan and cook the chopped onion gently until soft and golden.
Add the meat, breaking it up with a spoon, and fry until well browned and quite dry.
Stir in the walnuts, cumin, cinnamon, pepper flakes and salt, cook 2 minutes, then take off the heat and mix in the parsley. Let it cool completely.
For the shell, put the fine bulgur in a bowl, pour over the hot water, cover, and leave 20 minutes until the bulgur is soft and the water absorbed.
Add the flour, semolina, tomato paste, pepper flakes and salt to the softened bulgur.
Knead hard with wet hands for 5–8 minutes until it turns into a smooth, dark, elastic dough that holds together.
💡 This long kneading is what stops the shells cracking when you shape and fry them — don't cut it short.
With wet hands, pinch off a walnut-sized ball of dough and roll it smooth.
Push a finger into the centre and, turning the ball on your finger, work the walls out thin into a hollow cup.
💡 Keep your finger and the dough wet as you turn — a dry surface tears; wet, it stretches thin.
Spoon in a little filling, then pinch the opening closed and roll it gently back into a smooth egg shape, sealing any cracks with a wet finger.
Shape the rest the same way, keeping your hands and the dough damp throughout.
Heat the frying oil to 170°C — a cube of bread should sizzle and brown in about 40 seconds.
Lower in the köfte a few at a time and fry, turning, for 4–5 minutes until deep golden-brown and crisp all over.
Lift onto paper towel to drain, and serve hot with lemon wedges.

💡 Consigli

If a shell cracks while you fill it, patch it with a dab of wet dough before frying — a split one bursts in the oil.
For a lighter version, boil the parcels in salted water for about 8 minutes instead of frying.
Shape a big batch, freeze them raw on a tray, and fry straight from frozen — they reward the long folding for weeks.