Koofteh (Kufteh) Tabrizi is very famous in Iran, it originates in Tabriz (my hometown). Tabrizis are known to make the best Koofteh Tabrizi, because after all when a food is named after your city, it has to be worth that honor! I have had many koofteh Tabrzis in my life and have made quite a few myself, and I dare say this is the best! Cooking Koofteh takes some work and I am very grateful to my talented niece who has given me this recipe and has been there to answer the questions that I had when I made her very special Koofteh Tabrizi for the first time. What you will learn from this lengthy tutorial is that it is not just the ingredients but the technique that makes this Koofteh one of a kind. The taste is divine and the texture is incredibly light and moist.
Ever since I posted a picture of this Koofteh Tabrizi to Instagram and Facebook a few weeks ago I have received many requests for this recipe. So I think with Nowruz (Persian New Year) around the corner this will be my early “Eydi” (Nowruz gift) to say Thank You to all my lovely readers who appreciate my work and enjoy my recipes. This is not a quick and effortless recipe but you and all the lucky people whom you cook for will love it, and that is a promise!
Koofteh Tabrizi is a super meatball stuffed with dried fruits and berries, also a variety of nuts. There are some other interesting fillings for this very traditional Azeri dish that are worth mentioning. One very common item is a peeled hard boiled egg that is placed inside the koofteh along with nuts and dried fruit. The yellow cooked yolk surrounded by a ring of white makes a pretty presentation when you cut into the koofteh, so you might give this a try if you like. I personally prefer not to, simply because I think it takes up the space that I can fill with my favorite dried fruits and nuts that are more flavorful.
The other two choices for stuffing are almost unbelievable. I have never had either one of them myself, but I figure I should share these fun facts with you. Some cooks stuff one whole cooked chicken inside a koofteh. An even larger stuffing is a whole turkey! The latter koofteh can weigh up to 60 plus pounds. Keep in mind that each koofteh in my recipe weighs about one pound.
The delicious broth that you see in the picture is mixed with pieces of Sangak or other flat bread and then it is called “Tilit.” The koofteh has to cook in very little sauce otherwise it will fall apart. When the koofteh is ready the sauce is reduced to only about a cup or so. To make enough broth for the Tilit, a thin sauce is made separately and the reduced (thickened) sauce is added to it to create an amazing soup. When the pieces of bread soak up all of this broth, you will have what is called “Tilit,” with a melt in the mouth texture and an outstanding flavor.
Day 1: Ground beef, pieces of onion and cooked split peas are processed by a meat grinder attachment or a food processor until uniform and paste like. The rice and bulgur are cooked in water with some salt, turmeric and butter until most of the liquid is cooked off and the grains are tender but firm inside. In a large bowl the meat mixture, cooked rice mixture, eggs and spices are mixed until blended. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight.
DAY 2: Peel and slice 2 large yellow onions. Fry the onions in butter until golden brown. You will be dividing these fried onions and use them in the sauces (for cooking the koofteh and for the Tilit sauce), for filling, and for the garnish. Prepare the sauce (according to the recipe) in a large 12-inch stockpot or divide the recipe and make it in two 10-inch stockpots. Bring it to a slow boil, then turn off the heat and set it aside until all the Koofteh(s) are stuffed.
Add herbs and salt to the refrigerated ingredients. Knead the Koofteh mixture with your hands several times to blend well. Then comes the part that name Koofteh (to be beaten) comes from: Pick up handfuls of the ingredients, raise it above the level of the bowl and throw it back in the bowl (as you can see I had a pair of helping hands for this part!) Repeat this with the rest of the batter. This picking and throwing down will be done several times until you have a smooth paste that easily sticks together and will not fall apart when you pick it up in your hand.
Use a 10-ounce bowl to divide the paste into 6 equal meatballs. Divide one of the meatballs in two
Have the fillings ready for 6 koofteh. Have a small bowl of water near your work station. Add 1/2 tablespoon water to the same 10-ounce bowl that you have used for making the meatballs. Add one half of the meatball in the bowl and use your fingers to spread it in the bottom and all the way up the sides of the bowl.
Add a handful of the filling to the bowl. Cover the top with the other half of the ball. Press the top with the palm of your hand so the ingredients in the bowl stick together.
Invert the bowl and tap it a few times on the palm of your hand to release the meatball. Pass the meatball from hand to hand 5-6 times until there is no visible seam. Repeat this with all of the meat balls. Bring the prepared sauce to a low boil over medium low heat, or a little higher to maintain a low boil.
Gently slip the stuffed Koofteh one by one into the sauce that is gently boiling. Do Not move or turn the koofteh at any point after you put them in the sauce. The sauce should be boiling gently so the koofteh starts cooking and setting, as soon as it is placed in the sauce. Add the rest of the koofteh(s), there will be almost no space between them and it is okay. While maintaining a low boil cook the koofteh without covering it for 30 minutes. By the end of this time the koofteh will start changing color and the top will feel firmer to touch. Baste the tops with some of the broth, lower the heat to low and cover the pot. Simmer for the koofteh for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Baste the tops a few times during this cooking time. At the end of this time the sauce will have a clear layer of oil rising to the top. This is called “be roghan oftadan” or “ja oftadan,” and it means your long awaited Koofteh Tabrizi is cooked. Turn off the heat and let koofteh sit in the pot for about 15 minutes. Most of the liquid in the pot will be absorbed by the koofteh(s) and there will be some thick sauce left in the bottom of the pot. You will be removing all the koofteh plus the thick sauce out of the pot. Next, a thin sauce is made and mixed with half or all of the thick sauce, depending on how many koofteh(s) you decide to serve . You have the option to either serve all 6 Koofteh or serve 3 and freeze the rest.
*For the rest of serving and/or freezing instructions I will refer you to the recipe section.
To serve, transfer the Koofteh Tabrizi(s) to the serving platter. Sprinkle the top with optional ground saffron and ground cinnamon, then add a tablespoon or two of fried onion and barberry mixture. The tasty broth is served separately in a bowl. Bite size pieces of Sangak (Persian flat bread) are torn and tossed in the bowl to soak up all the flavorful broth. The other possible choices for bread are lavash and pita bread. As most Persian food we serve Sabzi Khordan (assortment of fresh herbs with radishes), Torshi (pickled vegetables), Torshi Sir (pickled whole garlic) and Piaz (onion). Now that we have everything ready, Let’s Eat!
This is what I have been waiting to show you! this is what Koofteh Tabrizi looks like when you cut into one. Only if you could taste these delicious spices, berries and nuts all stuffed inside an equally delicious giant meatball! Just remember, if you use dried Albaloo (sour cherries) like I do, warn everyone about the pits, unless you are able to buy ones already pitted.
p.s. If you try this recipe or any of my other recipes please make a comment on the post and let me know about your experience.
You will need a meat grinder or a food processor for this recipe
Part of the koofeth ingredients are mixed and refrigerated overnight, and then the rest of the ingredients are mixed in the next day
A 10 ounce bowl is used as a scoop for making the Koofteh(s)
- KOOFTEH INGREDIENTS, TO BE ADDED (DAY 1)
- 2 ¼ pounds ground beef (about 85% lean)
- ½ cup yellow split peas (slow cooking peas preferred), cooked with water and ¼ tsp salt
- 1 cup Calrose short grain rice and ½ cup bulgur (cooked with 1 cup water, ¼ tsp turmeric, ¼ tsp salt, 1 TBSP butter)
- 2 medium yellow onions (about ¾ pounds), cut each into 8 pieces
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ¼ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- KOOFTEH INGREDIENTS, TO BE ADDED (DAY 2)
- 1 ¼ cups thinly sliced garlic chives (tareh), or green part of scallions
- 1 ½ TBSP crushed dried summer savory (marzeh), if unable to find it just leave it out.
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp saffron powder
- A small bowl of water, will be used in half tablespoons for shaping the koofteh
- 2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced and fried to golden brown preferably in butter (about 10 ounces fried onions, divided)
- THE FILLING FOR 6 KOOFTEH:
- 2 ounces of the fried onions that you've already made
- 1 TBSP tomato paste (to be mixed with friend onion)
- ⅓ cup barberries (zereshk)
- 18 walnut halves
- 12 small apricots
- (Per Koofteh)- 1 TBSP each of: Dried cherries, cranberries, albaloo (sour cherry)
- THE SAUCE:
- 4 ounces of the fried onions that you have already made
- 2 TBSP tomato paste
- 1 TBSP butter
- ⅛ tsp saffron
- 2 ¾ cups hot water
- ¾ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- GARNISH
- A light sprinkle of ground cinnamon
- A dash of saffron
- Zereshk (Barberry) and fried onion mixture (use some of the fried onions that you've already made and mix it with about ¼ cup zereshk)
- THE THIN SAUCE FOR TILIT (this is for 3 koofteh)
- 3 TBSP fried onions
- 1 TBSP butter
- 1 TBSP tomato paste
- 3 cups boiling
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp saffron powder
- Day 1: Cook the yellow peas in a small saucepan with enough water to cover the peas by one inch. Add ¼ tsp kosher salt and cook uncovered until very tender. Drain and set aside.
- Meat Grinder Method: The ground beef, onions and cooked split peas will be grinded together to get a uniform mixture. I had to grind the mixture twice to get it all uniform. I have used the meat grinder attachment on my Kitchen Aid (OR),
- Food Processor Method: Depending on the size of your food processor you might have to do this in two portions. Divide the ground beef, cut up onions and cooked split peas in half. For each portion, use on/off switch chop the onions very small (do not puree). Then add ground beef and cooked split peas just until you get a uniform paste-like consistency. Do not over process.
- Cook the rice and bulgur in a 2-Qt saucepan with 1 cup water, 1 tablespoons butter, ¼ tsp salt and ¼ tsp turmeric over medium low heat until most of the liquid is cooked off and the grains are half cooked (tender but still hard inside)
- Add the meat mixture to a large bowl. Add the cooked rice and bulgur, 2 eggs and the spices (do not add the salt and herbs yet).
- Use your fingers to kneading the mixture until you have a uniform mixture. Cover the bowl tightly with a plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days.
- Day 2: Peel and thinly slice 2 large onions and fry them in butter until golden brown and set aside. You will be using this fried onion divided for different parts of this recipe.
- Get all the ingredients that you like to use as filling. What you decide to stuff the koofteh with is pretty much up to your preference, I have only mentioned a few to give you an idea. But I find it is helpful to make a handful of filling for each koofteh and set them on a plate so you will have it ready.
- Then get the sauce ready: Add the fried onions, butter and tomato paste to a 12-inch diameter large stockpot that will fit 6 koofteh, or divide the ingredients and make the sauce in two 10-inch diameter stockpots. Sauté until aromatic. Add saffron, hot water, salt, freshly cracked black pepper and ground cinnamon. Bring the sauce to a low boil. Turn the heat off. You will bring the sauce back to a simmer when the koofteh are stuffed and ready.
- To make the koofteh: Add salt, sliced tareh and crushed dried summer savory and saffron. Mix well to blend. Then pick up handfuls of the mixture and drop it back into the bowl. Keep doing this several times until the mixture is very uniform and sticks together very well when you press it into a ball.
- Fill up a small bowl with some water and set it aside near your work station.
- Use a 10 ounce bowl to scoop the koofteh mixture and make 6 balls and set them aside on a tray. You will be using the same small bowl to make the stuffed koofteh.
- Add ½ tablespoon water to the small koofteh bowl. Divide one meatball in half and place it in the bowl. Use your finger tips to spread the mixture all over the bottom and up the sides of the bowl.
- Fill it with the handful of filling ingredients that you have prepared ahead of time. Place the other half of the meat ball on top and press it with your fingertips so everything sticks together.
- Invert the bowl and tap it on the palm of your other hand until it releases. This might take a second and it might seem stock but with a little tapping and shaking it will release.
- Keep passing the stuffed meat ball from hand to hand 5-6 times until there is no visible seam between the two halves of the meat. Place the koofteh on a platter and repeat with the rest of the meat mixture and filling until all 6 koofteh are stuffed.
- Heat up the sauce that you made earlier over medium low until it comes to a low boil. Gently lift each koofteh with both hands and slide it into the sauce. Repeat with the rest of the koofteh; there will not be much space between the Koofteh(s) and this is fine. Do Not move or turn the koofteh(s) after you put them in the sauce.
- Without covering the pot, continue cooking over medium low for 30 minutes maintaining a slow boil, this will keep the koofteh from falling apart. After this time, the top of the koofteh will change color and will feel firmer to touch.
- Reduce heat to low, cover the pot and simmer for 1 hour and half. Baste the koofteh tops with some of the broth a few times during this simmering period.
- At the end of this cooking time the broth will start looking clear and the oil will rise to the surface (this is called be roghan oftadan and it means the koofteh(s) are cooked).
- Turn the heat off and let koofteh rest for about 10 minutes. Most of the remaining broth will be absorbed into the koofteh and there will be about one cup of thick sauce in the bottom.
- Transfer the koofteh to a platter and the thick sauce to a bowl.
- NOTE: I usually serve 3 of the koofteh(s) and freeze the rest. I divided the thick sauce in half and freeze it with 3 (cooled) koofteh(s) in a freezer safe container for up to a month.
- To make the thin sauce for Tilit (for 3 koofteh): In a 6-Qt stockpot add 3 TBSP fried onions, 1 TBSP butter, and 1 TBSP tomato paste. Saute over medium low heat until butter melts and the tomato paste becomes aromatic. Add 3 cups of boiling water, ½ tsp kosher salt, ½ tsp cinnamon, ⅛ tsp saffron. Bring the sauce to a boil then stir half of the reserved thick sauce and bring to a boil over medium low and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add 3 koofteh to the pot and simmer for another 10 minutes until heated through. Garnish the top of each koofteh with a pinch of saffron powder and some ground cinnamon.
- Sprinkle some barberry and fried onion mixture to the very top of the dome.
- Serve the koofteh on a platter and the broth in a bowl. Add some bite size pieces of warm Sangak, lavash or pita to the broth and stir to coat.
- As usual no meal would be complete without some Sabzi Khorda, Torshi or Torshi Sir. Enjoy Koofteh Tabrizi that is named after my hometown,Tabriz.
this is dream come through, my ultimate persian food! but only if my mom makes it, kash bood o baraam dorost mikard, she made the best koofte!
thank you for sharing it!
Farzaneh jan, You are very welcome! Your comment is so beautiful that it makes all the hours 🙂 that I put on this post all worthwhile! I have made the instructions and pictures very detailed so I have no doubt that everyone will be able to make this Koofteh with success, though mom’s dast pokht is always the best!
Thank you so much for your comment!
دست مريزاد هما خانم چه دستور دقيق كاملي خيلي ممنون من سيوش ميكنم انشاءالله من چندين بار كوفته تبريزي پخته ام با اون كه تبريزي نيستم غذاهاي تركي را دوست دارم بايد اقرار كنم كه چند دفعه اي هم كوفته وا رفته و شكلش را از دست داده☺اين دستور كامل شما خيلي خوبه با اين عكسهاي خوب قدم به قدم دستت درد نكنه
khanomalef aziz,
خواهش میکنم، منم راستش عاشق کوفته تبریزیم و خیلی از دوستان بهم میگفتند چقدر با کوفته تبریزی اشکال دارند، منم دیدم راه دیگه ای غیر از شرح طولانی و کامل نداره. امیدوارم درستش کنین و لذت ببرین و بهم خبر بدین. ممنون از لطف همیشگی شما
اگر کوفته وا میرود برای هر یک کیلو مواد، یک قاشق غذا خوری آرد برنج قاتی کنید و خوب مالش بدید
Absolutely Spectacular! I am speechless, not only for the beautiful dish you made, but also for the possible detailed tutorial you have provided. When we returned from Japan to Tehran, we briefly had a landlord who was from a Turkish speaking part of Iran. She used to make kufteh Tabrizi quite often, her servant using mortar-and-pestle, pounded cooked yellow-split peas and later with meat forever. The largest landlord ever made was the size of a basketball. At her brother’s engagement party, I had the experience of seeing one of those ‘huge’ kufteh Tabrizi, with kufteh being stuffed with baby lamb and poultry inside the baby lamb, and quail inside the poultry. Yes, the pot was ‘huge’!
Dear Fae, thank you! If my detailed tutorial results in many successful Koofteh Tabrizi(s), it will be worth all the work that I’ve put into this post to make it clear and easy to follow 🙂
That must have been some Koofteh, definitely the most intricate one I’ve ever heard of, Wow!!
My mother-in-law was born in Maragheh – she is azeri. She makes those huge kufteh sometimes with a whole chicken, crisp onion and walnuts inside – One kufteh is enough for 4-6 persons. When I make them myself I do almost the same as this recipe – yummy I don’t make this enough. It’s been years since lasttime.
با سپاس فراوان از شما همه از کوفته ای که از روی رسپی شما درست کردم تعریف میکنند
Toot aziz,
خواهش میکنم، نوش جون شما و همه مهموناتون
پاینده باشین
Made this the other day OUTSTANDING my family was truly happy.
Dear Alma, I really appreciate your comment, thank you! So happy your family enjoyed it, noushe joon 🙂
Really nice recipe! Thank you for all the effort you put into this! I tried these at one of the (rare) persian restaurants and had to give it a try!
Actually, I was a bit scared by the size – all of this tasty mass divided into only 6 pieces!
That’s why I made smaller ones and yielded 24 – they taste awesome but almost all of them seem to be ripped open. What could have gone wrong in the process?
Best regards from Germany
Greetings from U.S. Dear Eva,
I’m very glad you liked the recipe. I have never made koofteh Tabrizi in small size like you have. I’m guessing that you were able to put very little amount of filling inside each and if there was plenty of meat mixture surrounding the filling, that should not have caused the koofteh to crack.
The length of cooking time and the amount of the sauce that the recipe calls for is for the larger koofteh and either or both of these factors can cause the smaller koofteh to fall apart. I hope I have answered your question. I would recommend that next time please don’t get intimidated by the size of this koofteh and make 6 of them, because I really feel that it is only then that you will achieve the very moist texture of this koofteh. Good luck and I would love to hear from you again 🙂
hello, if i wanted to use dried tareh how much would i need?
sorry also what is your saffron powder? is it pure safron or a safron and sugar mix? i plan on making this for the first time ever for a side dish at thanksgiving so i dont want to mess it up. thank you 🙂
i’m so sorry last question is the butter salted or unsalted?
Hello Leila jan; I must confess that I stuffed Koofteh Tabrizi instead of turkey last Thanksgiving 😉
You will need to use about 2/3 cup of dried tareh. My saffron powder is pure ground saffron. I only use unsalted butter in my recipes. Please let me know if you have any further questions. Happy cooking 🙂
thank you so much! i told my mum last night and she was so excited!
Anytime Leila jan; I’m looking forward to reading all about it once you make this 🙂
I am half Azeri and my grandmother would make it w a mix of meats beef and lamb i love how detailed your recipe is thank you for sharing. I wish you could make a youtube video of this ???? That would be soooo amazing. Thanks for sharing your passion
Dear Sahar, I’m happy to read your comment; it’s always lovely to meet another Azeri who is familiar with my recipes. The video of this recipe is a definite possibility in the upcoming months, and I agree it will be very helpful for many who love this Azeri specialty but are intimidated by it. Thanks for writing to me and please keep in touch!
درود به شما من امروز دارم این گوفته رو از روی رسپی شما میپزم الان در مرحله ۳۰ دقیقه میدیوم پخت
هستم و نگران هستم که کوفته ها از هم باز بشند چون همه رودر یک روز انجام دادم
امادر هر حال از شما سپاسگزارم که اینهمه خوب و عالی با دیتیلز زحمت کشیدید و همه مراحل رو بخوبی و روشنی توضیح دادید سپاسگزارم??
روز بخیر فرینا جان؛ امیدوارم کوفته موفقیت امیز بوده باشه. دوست عزیز خیلی ممنون از کلمات پر مهر شما و خوشحالم که کارم مورد پسندتونه. موفق باشین عزیزم.
Your recipe was excellent but I made major changes to it and it turned out fantastic. First, Persian cooking is in my opinions best with a lot of herbs or sabzi. I cut a very large batch of cilantro, parsley, little dill, and green onions (piazcheh), all finely chopped. 2/3 of this I cooked very little, not fried but appropriate for ash. Fried you loose the flavor. The remaining 1/3 I mixed with the meat mixture before I made my balls. After the first 30 minutes of medium heat when the kofteh had formed I added this 2/3 little cooked batch of herbs to the sauce. As you can imagine, My kofteh was heavy in sabzi, both in the sauce and mixed with the meat.
I did a second thing which made the kofteh honestly fantastic. For a batch of 9 kofteh, (4 pounds plus of meat), I added a whole 12 oz bottle of pomegrante paste to my sauce. It cooked the full 1.5 hours with everything. I had gone heavier on the fried onions and tomato paste. The pomegrante sauce was heavenly. It added a slight sour but fantastic flavor.
Try these 2 changes and you will not be disappointed. Your talit will have lots of sabzi. Inside your meat you will also have the flavor of sabzi. The pictures of your kofteh are very brown. Mine are not green but much more sabzi. But the killer is the pomegrante sauce. It is very tasty
Hello Mohsen; thank you for sharing your version of this recipe. It sounds very delicious and in a way it reminds me of koofteh anar which I love! I’m a pomegranate paste fan, but I’m sure it will change the flavor of this recipe which is the very authentic koofteh Tabrizi that I grew up eating and enjoying.
Sorry. A cook makes the hundred year old recipe to the detail and make minimum wage. A chef has ideas and creativity. People pay for creativity. Chefs create their own recipes. We don’t have that in Iranian cooking. We follow the recipe and find honor in that!
Just some thoughts.
Homa, someday I want to have enough free time to make these because they look so tasty. I just wanted to tell you they my old-timey Persian cookbook (c. 1960) says the traditional filling is a baby chick. *picture me aghast* I just had to tell someone. Have you ever seen that??
Hi Allison; I highly recommend it; I know you’ll enjoy this recipe and yes, it does take some time and can’t be rushed. As for the stuffing, my mom always used a hard boiled egg, nuts and dried fruit inside, I’ve omitted the egg; but the chick is something else !! have heard of but never seen it; I feel the same way as you do, LOL!
This recipe sounds wonderful. Years ago I had a similar recipe served in an Azerbaijani restaurant in Washington, DC, which used the center hard boiled egg, but it was not nearly as flavorful as your recipe sounds. I cannot wait to try this!
This recipe sounds wonderful!. Years ago I had a similar recipe served in an Azerbaijani restaurant in Washington, DC, which used the center hard boiled egg, but it was not nearly as flavorful as your recipe sounds. I cannot wait to try this!
Years ago I had a similar recipe served in an Azerbaijani restaurant in Washington, DC, which used the center hard boiled egg, but it was not nearly as flavorful as your recipe sounds.Where to you get your pure ground saffron?
Hi Vicki; You will love the perfect union of so many flavors in this recipe, the sweet and sour dried fruit in the filling, and you will see how tender the texture is compared to some koofteh recipes that tend to produce a very dense, almost dry dish.
I grind my own saffron from the saffron strands:
https://persianmama.com/sabzi-khordan-fresh-herbs/
Let me know how this recipe works for you; have a great weekend 🙂
Hi Homa,
I really enjoy your detailed recipes. I haven’t tried to make this before so I will be following this one because it seems the most authentic.
My father is Azeri and my mom is Persian. I know most of the Persian recipes but want to embrace my Azeri side as well!
Thank you!
Hi Sara; this is an amazing recipe and I hope you’ll let me know what you think of it after you make it. I love that you want to expand your cooking to include more Azeri recipes; each cuisine teaches us so much about the history, people, differences and similarities. Happy cooking 🙂
Hi Homa,
I ended up making this recipe for my parents after they traveled out of state for a funeral and returned hungry.
I had been growing all the herbs in my garden at the time so I was able to use fresh herbs (and a bit of dry for texture).
It was loved by everyone! Thank you so much for giving everyone such an authentic and detailed index of your recipes.
I bet you throw the best meehmooni’s 🙂
Sara
Dear Sara; thanks for the feedback! I simply love this recipe and I’m very happy to hear that all of you have enjoyed it. Fresh herbs are the best in this koofteh, especially the herbs that you’ve grown with love in your own garden 😉 Good to hear from you and please keep in touch!
Thanks, Homa Jan. I followed your recipe and made my first Kofteh Tabrizi. I think for the first time was amazing with all your fantastic help. I love you, and my mom says I tell you Yashasin Tabriz Maralarie.
Thanks, Homa Jan. I followed your recipe and made my first Kofteh Tabrizi. I think for the first time was amazing with all your fantastic help. I love you, and my mom says I tell you Yashasin Tabriz Maralarie
Hello Lida jan; thanks so much for writing to me to share your successful koofteh experience; I’m glad you’ve found my instructions helpful. Nooshe jan azizam! Please give my warm regards to your dear mom and do keep in touch.
Thank you for this recipe. I’m an Italian married to a Persian and this is my husband’ Favorite Persian food. This is the second time I’m making this receipt and although it’s lots of work the results are amazing. Thanks again for sharing.
Dear Clem; it’s lovely to hear from you. I really appreciate reading the comments posted by my loyal readers who recreate my recipes and write me about it; it makes all of my efforts worthwhile 😉 Please give my regards to your husband and do keep in touch!
سلام هما جان،
دستور كوفته شما عاللللييييي بود. من اواين بارم بود درست ميكردم. خودم هم باورم نميشد. ممنون از شما❤️
پروانه جان درود دوست عزیز. خوشحالم کوفته موفقیت امیز بوده. مرسی که بهم خبر دادین. نوش جون
Salam,
I did the recipe very good:)
I stuffed it with dried plums and made the Koofteh smaller (not too small)
It was pretty good.
Merci:)
Salam dear Jocelyne; Khahesh mikonam! Thanks so much for writing to me. Koofteh is one of the more involved recipes and one of the most traditional dishes in the Iranian cuisine. It is great to hear that you had a successful experience. Please keep in touch!
Homa,
I made this beautiful dish and my Persian husband loved it. I was a bit intimidated by all the ingredients and steps. It really came out tasting and looking so appetizing.
Thank you.
Peggy
Dear Peggy, thanks for your comment. Yes, I agree koofteh Tabrizi is intimidating to most cooks, but the outcome of this recipe is so worth the effort! I’m happy that both you and your husband have enjoyed it. Have a great week.
Thank you. Your recipes are perfect. I wanted to make this “Kofte Tabrizi” with my cousin in Iran together. Do you have this exact recipe in the Farsi language as well?
Hi Halen, I’m glad you’re enjoying my recipes. That is such a fun idea, but I’m afraid I don’t have this in Farsi! I hope you two can find a way to cook this together. Please keep in touch 🙂
Hello, Homa! I have spent several days going through each recipe and story, and my mouth won’t stop watering. And nothing I eat is satisfying my Persian craving! At least I do have some Ghotab and pistachio baklava logs that I ordered to satisfy my sweet tooth for the moment.
In going through each step, I’m stuck on the filling. You do not mention how to prepare the filling…do you mix the 2 ounces of the fried onions, tomato paste, zereshk (dried or plumped?), walnut halves (are they chopped or left whole?) and apricots (are they fresh or dried, and are they diced?) all together to form a chunky paste, divided into six portions? And then mix the dried cherries, cranberries and sour cherries in with each portion of chunky paste?
And for the garnish how is the zereshk prepared before mixing it with the fried onions? I would assume it should be plumped, not dried…but what does my western mind know?
This Koofteh Tabrizi sounds heavenly and amazing and I don’t want to make a mistake with this laborious process if I can help it. I have never had this before and my mind is having difficulty comprehending it. Thank you so much for any insight you can give me. I absolutely love how detailed you are, all the photos you provide, and the in-depth stories with each recipe!
Another question, sorry! In Step 3 you cook the rice and bulgar until most of the liquid is cooked off and the grains are half cooked, then in Step 4 you add it to the meat mixture along with eggs and spices. Do you drain the liquid from the rice, or add it to the mixture?
Hi Tammy, I’m happy that you’re making this recipe. It will definitely satisfy your Persian food craving in the most authentic way 😉
*To answer your questions: On step 3, ‘most of the water will be cooked off,’ so there is no liquid to drain.
* Some of the meat paste (specified in the recipe) is placed in a small bowl, then the “filling” ingredients are placed in the center, then it is covered with more meat paste.
*The filling has walnut ‘halves,’ and dried apricots. It is not necessary to plump the zereshk; it will plump after cooking inside the koofteh.
The answer to your questions are in the printable recipes and in the illustrations/instructions. There are many important points in this section and many people find it very helpful. This is a pretty involved recipe and I highly recommend reading it to get all the information before starting to cook.
Let me know how this works out for you. Happy cooking 🙂
Homa Khanoom,
This is indeed a labor of love. This is comfort food for me. Any time my mom made anything from Dizzi to koofteh, I enjoyed the tilit the most with sabzi, piaz, and torshi. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe. I’m hungry just looking at the gorgeous pictures!
Hello Sabrina, thanks so much for your kind words. Tilit is the best 🙂
It is a pleasure to share my recipes with you, enjoy them in good health and please keep in touch!