The History of Kofta

It is a very simple recipe, rich in flavor and comforting. We tend to have it with some simple herbed flatbreads, however it is also great with crusty bread or even with some plain rice!
The word kofta comes from Persian ” kufta”, meaning ‘pounded meat’. The languages of the region of the kofta’s origin have adopted the word with minor phonetic variations.
The first appearance of recipes for kofta are in the earliest Arab cookbooks.The earliest recipes are for large ground lamb meatballs triple-glazed in a mixture of saffron and egg yolk. This glazing method spread to the West, where it is referred to as “gilding” or “endoring”.
Kofta’s are found from the Indian subcontinent through central Asia, the Middle East, the Balkans, and northern Africa.

Kofta in the Jordanian Community is very similar to the Palestinian kofta. It also pronounced as kafta, is made of minced meat, usually beef or veal, or a mixture of beef with lamb. It contains herbs, finely chopped onions and spices, and it is either flattened on a tray and called suneyet kofta, or made into patties; the kofta is then either baked or cooked and simmered with tomato sauce, tahini sauce, date syrup, pomegranate syrup, or tamarind syrup, and typically accompanied by potatoes or other vegetables. Another common variety of Palestinian kofta is a kofta bi batata, which consists of a bed of thinly sliced potatoes in layers under flattened kofta baked in a tray.

Very Simple, but so satisfying.

One of those recipes, that once you make it , you will do it on a regular basis

kofta with tomato recipe

  • Combine meat, chopped onion, black pepper, cinnamon powder and parsley in a mixing bowl. Mix well then divide the mixture into meatballs. Flatten meatballs to form patties. Arrange in baking dish.
  • Arrange potato slices on top of the meat patties then the onions, bell pepper rings and tomatoes slices.
  • Put water, tomato paste, Salt, white pepper and cinnamon powder in a saucepan. Bring to boil then simmer for 5 minutes with stirring to mix well.
  • Pour prepared sauce into the oven plate and cover with foil. Bake in a 200˚C oven for 1 hour 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
  • Garnish with chopped parsley and serve.

kofta with tahini recipe

  • Preheat oven to 400ºF. Combine all kofta ingredients in large bowl and use your hands to work everything together so that the spices especially are evenly distributed.
  • Scoop by 1/2-cupfuls and shape into long sausage shapes. Arrange in a 9×13″ baking dish and bake for 25 minutes, until browned. Meanwhile, whisk together sauce ingredients (1/2 cup tahini, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1/2 cup hot water, 1 clove garlic minced, 1/2 tsp kosher salt or to taste).
  • Flip over the kofta, and pour the sauce over top, whisking it into the accumulated juices. Continue baking another 10-15 minutes, until tops of kofta are browned and sauce is slightly thickened. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with flatbread.

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