Turkish Meatballs
"I learned to make this at a Turkish cooking class. Serve it with a variety of Middle Eastern dishes and feel free to adjust the seasonings to your taste. What I've given is an absolute minimum, but when I make the meatballs I normally throw in extra cumin and sometimes chilli flakes. You can also make this with minced beef."
- Ready In:
- 25mins
- Ingredients:
- 10
- Yields:
-
18-24 meatballs
ingredients
- 1 cup dried Bulgar wheat
- 1 lb ground lamb
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1⁄4 cup raisins, soaked in hot water
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 1 egg
- fresh parsley, chopped (for garnish)
directions
- Cook the bulgur by covering it with a cup of boiling water and letting it soak in a covered bowl for about 10 minutes.
- Uncover and let cool for a few minutes.
- Meanwhile, put the rest of the ingredients except the parsley in a mixing bowl.
- Add in the cooled bulgur and use your hands to thoroughly mix everything together.
- Roll them with your hands into balls around the same size as a golf ball and flatten them a little.
- Now you can either bake them in a hot oven for around 10 minutes or fry them in hot oil until they are browned all over.
- Serve with parsley sprinkled on top.
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Reviews
-
it works very well.and most delicious meat ball ever had. -
These are very tasty. I used 750g ground beef which I had on hand, and therefore reduced the bulgar wheat (bourghal) to 1/2 cup. I also used rounded tsp of the spices instead of level. I served these with 1/2 cup Greek Yoghurt, through which I mixed 2 tablespoons finely chopped mint, 1/2 Lebanese cucumber, chopped into small pieces, and 2 tsp lemon juice.
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Turkish cuisine is very sophisticated and uses a lot of spices. However, these meatballs are not what is typically cooked, at least where I grew up. When I think of meatballs, I think of meat, bread crumbs, cumin, black pepper, salt, lots of freshly chopped parsley and onions. But, there are many regional variations to many dishes. -
These were very tasty. I served it with Turkish Salad and hummus. Next time I will add a little salt and a little more spice and have some pita on hand. I especially enjoyed having that bit of sweet of the raisin. every so often -
Just wanted to clarify, spices are a very large part of the Turkish cuisine - which happens to be one of the most varied and colourful cuisines in the world - and have been so for hundreds of centuries. I find comments that state otherwise comical.
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Right now we are travelling around the world on our bicycles, so I only pop onto Zaar occasionally, when internet connections and time allow me to. If I don't reply to a message about one of my recipes, now you know why! Our trip may take several years so if it's urgent, it's probably better for you to post in the forums ;)
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