TRH > wrote in message >. ..
> [Additional recipes for kofte are at:
> http://aggregate.org/hankd/FOOD/kofte.html
> http://www.sheepscreek.com/recipes/shish-kofte.html
> http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/re.../views/105019/
> http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/librar...s/bl-kofte.htm
> http://www.jewishfood-list.com/recip...ilkofte01.html ]
>
> x0x Myriad Flavours of Meatballs
>
> By Tunca Varis
>
> The three most diverse and sophisticated cuisines in the world are
> said to be the Turkish, French and Chinese. All three are
> characterised by a fusion of their own strong culinary traditions with
> influences and borrowings from other cultures with which they have
> come in contact over the centuries. At the same time, like all
> cuisines they are shaped equally by the tastes of society and by the
> available variety of foodstuffs. Chinese cuisine simultaneously brings
> together a mixture of flavours - peppery, sweet, sour and savoury -
> which delight the palate. Almost everything is cooked and placed on
> the table at the same time. French cuisine, on the other hand, is
> ceremonious, and preparation of some main dishes is measured not by
> the clock but by the calendar, requiring days of work. But for sheer
> diversity, in my view, the Turkish cuisine takes first place.
>
> Do not dismiss this claim as cheap chauvinism. Let us consider the
> aubergine, which takes pride of place in many widely different forms:
> hot and cold, with meat and without, as a salad, fried, pickled, and
> even as jam. Then there are the innumerable rice dishes, puddings,
> soups and stuffed dishes; far too many to even touch upon here. What I
> am leading up to is the subject of kofte or meatballs, which
> illustrate just what I mean by culinary diversity. The word is derived
> from the Persian word kufte meaning 'ground'. Although kofte made of
> ground meat are the first which come to mind, they can be made without
> any meat at all, as in the case of lentil or potato kofte .
> kofte are an unpretentious and economical dish, yet always delicious.
>
> Grilled kofte cooked on a barbecue are a mainstay of picnics and
> outdoor meals cooked in the garden or on the balcony, and by
> restaurants and street vendors.
>
> At the mention of a barbecue, the first thought is to prepare kofte .
>
> When travelling and in need of a light but satisfying lunch, we head
> first for a kofte restaurant. Many places in Turkey have a nationwide
> reputation for their kofte , such as Edirne, Inegol, Tekirdag,
> Sultanahmet in Istanbul, Adapazari, Sanliurfa, Akcaabat and Adana
> (other places I have not enumerated will I hope forgive me for the
> omission), and you are sure to find a kofte shop at every step. That
> marvellous appetising flavour draws you in the right direction like a
> magnet. Fried kofte are also unforgettable. As the plates of kofte
> with golden fried potatoes arrive at the table, every eye, nose and
> fork is turned in their direction. Cold kofte cooked the previous day
> are associated with school outings, excursions with friends, and
> family picnics, with the classical accompaniments of hard-boiled eggs,
> tomatoes, cucumbers, stuffed vine leaves, savoury boreks and fruit.
>
> If kofte are lightly fried, arranged in a baking dish with sliced
> potatoes and aubergines, a sauce of grated tomato cooked briefly in
> butter poured over, and baked in the oven, you have sahan kofte . If
> you mix your minced meat with rice instead of breadcrumbs, form the
> mixture into small balls, stew them in tomato sauce, and finally
> thicken the sauce with a liaison of a little flour and perhaps some
> lemon juice, you have eksili kofte , sulu kofte or Izmir kofte . For
> Sis kofte Gaziantep, Adana, Urfa or Aleppo style, threaded onto flat
> or angular skewers and grilled, the meat is not ground in a mincing
> machine but very finely chopped with a special knife, and then mixed
> with the particular combination of onion and seasoning used in each
> region. Whether mild or peppery, they go perfectly with a glass of
> tangy turnip juic.
>
> In southern and southeastern Turkey, bulgur wheat is an essential
> ingredient of many varieties of meatball, above all the stuffed
> meatballs known as icli kofte with an outer shell of bulgur and minced
> meat and a filling of walnuts and spicy minced meat.
>
> Raw kofte are a speciality that requires top-quality meat without a
> trace of fat. This is then minced and kneaded with bulgur and the
> purplish hot pepper of the region, a task that requires skill,
> strength and patience to achieve perfect result.
>
> After eating four or five of these exquisitely flavoured kofte you
> will be smouldering internally from the pepper, and the heat of the
> sun will seem mild in comparison! A quite different type of kofte has
> a name that is as memorable as its taste. Kadinbudu, or ladies' thighs
> kofte are prepared from a mixture of fried and raw minced meat with
> boiled rice, dipped in beaten egg and fried.
>
> The subject of kofte could fill books and still leave corners
> unexplored. There are a multitude of local variations as well as those
> known all over the country. But the most important aspect of kofte is
> simply that everyone enjoys eating them, as proved beyond doubt by the
> ubiquitous hamburger, cousin of the kofte , sold by our plant'sg
> best-known fast food chain in a bun with sliced onions, tomato
> ketchup, and fried potatoes. Not for gourmets, perhaps, but they can
> find plenty of alternatives in any Turkish cookbook.
>
> * Tunca Varis is a freelance writer.


Pardon me, while I belch.

Pierre