Kofta
Kofta is a family of meatball or meatloaf dishes found in Balkan, Middle Eastern, South Caucasian, South Asian and Central Asian cuisines. In the simplest form, koftas consist of balls of minced meat – usually beef, chicken, pork, lamb or mutton, or a mixture – mixed with spices and sometimes other ingredients. The earliest known recipes are found in early Arab cookbooks and call for ground lamb.
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There are many national and regional variations. There are also vegetable and uncooked versions. Shapes vary and include balls, patties, and cylinders. Sizes typically vary from that of a golf ball to that of an orange.
Etymology
In English, kofta is a loanword borrowed from Urdu: کوفتہ, romanized: kofta, lit. 'pounded meat' which in turn is derived from Classical Persian koftah, contemporarily kufte.[1][2][3][4] The earliest extant use of the word in the Urdu language is attested from the year 1665 in Mulla Nusrati's ʿAlī Nāma.[5][6] It was first used in English in Qanoon-e-Islam in 1832,[7] and then by James Wise in 1883.[8] The languages of the region of the kofta's origin have adopted the word with minor phonetic variations.[9] Similar foods are called in other languages croquettes, dumplings, meatballs, rissoles, and turnovers.[9][10]
History
The first appearance of recipes for kofta are in the earliest Arab cookbooks.[11][9] The earliest recipes are for large ground lamb meatballs triple-glazed in a mixture of saffron and egg yolk.[11] This glazing method spread to the West, where it is referred to as "gilding" or "endoring".[9] Koftas moved to India; according to Alan Davidson nargisi kofta were served at the Moghul court.[9]
Koftas are found from the Indian subcontinent through Central Asia, the Middle East, the Balkans, and northern Africa.[9] Koftas are found in the traditional cuisines of Iran, Afghanistan,[12] Albania, Bulgaria,[9] Georgia,[13] Armenia,[12][13] Azerbaijan,[12][13] Greece,[9] India,[9][12][14] Morocco,[9] Pakistan,[15] Romania,[16] and Turkey.[12][17] In Turkey it is "a preferred offering at communal gatherings of all kinds", according to Engin Akin.[17] In Armenia and Azerbaijan it is, along with dolma, lavash, harissa, kebabs, and pahlava, a dish of "clearly symbolic ethnic significance" often argued over by gastronationalists attempting to claim it as one of their own country's traditional dishes that has been co-opted by the other country.[13] Kofta is a popular dish among Assyrian people.[18]
Variations
Generally meat is mixed with spices and often other ingredients such as rice, bulgur, vegetables, or eggs to form a paste.[9] They can be grilled, fried, steamed, poached, baked, or marinated, and may be served with a rich spicy sauce or in a soup or stew.[9] Koftas are sometimes made from fish or vegetables rather than red meat.[19] Some versions are stuffed with nuts, cheese, or eggs.[9] Generally the size can vary from the "size of an orange to the size of a golf ball",[20] although some variants are outside that range; tabriz koftesi, which average 20 centimetres (8 in) in diameter, are the largest.[9] They can be shaped in various forms[10] including patties, balls, or cylinders.[21] Some versions are uncooked.[11]
Examples
- Chiftele, a Romanian version using ground pork mixed with mashed potatoes
- Çiğ köfte, a Turkish and Armenian version made with bulgur and sometimes raw meat
- İnegöl köfte, a Turkish style
- Islama köfte, a steamed kofta from Turkey
- Kibbeh, a category of dish in Middle Eastern cuisine which includes koftas, sometimes served raw
- Analı kızlı, a Turkish soup
- Kofta curry, having meat or vegetable balls in a curry sauce. There are many variations using different ingredients for the balls, such as kofta curries made with paneer, chicken or mutton; it derives from the Indian subcontinent.[20]
- Koofteh berenji, koofteh hamedani, koofteh nar, koofteh tabrizi and koofteh shirin-e kermanshahi, Iranian variants.[22]
- Nargisi kofta, an Indian dish in which a hard-boiled egg is wrapped in the kofta mixture[9]
- Pishtha, a meatball mentioned in the Sushrutha Samhita[23]
- Şiş köfte, a kebab-style kofta from Turkish cuisine
- Sulu köfte, a Turkish kofta soup or stew
- Tabriz köftesi, an Azerbaijani version unusual for its average diameter of 20 centimetres (8 in)[9]
- Tomatokeftedes, a Greek vegetarian version which uses tomatoes[24]
- Kotlet from Iran
- Iranian Tabrizi kofta include yellow split peas and potatoes as well as minced meat
- Indian vegetable kofta curry served with rice
- Egyptian cigar-shaped kofta in a pita
See also
References
- Stevenson, Angus; Waite, Maurice, eds. (18 August 2011). "kofta". Concise Oxford English Dictionary: Luxury Edition (12th ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 790. ISBN 978-0-19-960111-0.
- "kofta". Collins English Dictionary (Online). HarperCollins Publishers. n.d. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
- "Kofta". Educalingo (Online). n.d. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
- "kofta". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
- Nuṣratī, Mullā (1665). ʿAlī Nāma علی نامہ (in Urdu). p. 234.
Na tha har ġalūla nibolī te kam / Rakhe kofte [pl.] bār golīyāṅ te jam
- Fatehpuri, Farman, ed. (June 1993) [22 vols pub. 1977–2010]. "kofta" کوفتہ. Urdu Lughat (Tareekhi Usool Par) [Urdu Dictionary on Historical Principles] (in Urdu). Vol. 15. Urdu Dictionary Board.
- Shurreef, Jaffur (1832). "Appendix". Qanoon-e-Islam قانونِ اسلام [The Customs of the Moosulmans of India; Comprising a Full and Exact Account of Their Various Rites and Ceremonies, from the Moment of Birth Till the Hour of Death] (in Urdu). Translated by Herklots, Gerhard Andreas. London, England: Parbury, Allen, and Co. p. xxx. pp. xxvii, xxx:
V. Moosulman [Muslim] Cookery, (including the various Dishes alluded to in this Work). 1. Polaoos پلاؤ. ... Kofta Polaoo کوفتہ پلاؤ.
- Wise, James (1883). "Nán-baí, Roṭi-wálah". Notes on the Races, Castes and Trades of Eastern Bengal. London, England: Harrison and Sons. p. 97.
[The Nān-bāʾī's] bill of fare includes a delicious, richly-flavoured curry, Kofta, or pounded meat, roasts, and puláos. ... Koftá—hashed or pounded, and fried in Ghí.
- Davidson, Alan (2014). The Oxford Companion to Food. Tom Jaine, Soun Vannithone (3rd ed.). New York, NY. p. 448. ISBN 978-0-19-967733-7. OCLC 890807357.
- Herbst, Ron (2015). The deluxe food lover's companion. Sharon Tyler Herbst (2nd ed.). Hauppauge, New York. pp. 261–262. ISBN 978-1-4380-7621-8. OCLC 909914756.
- Brown, Ellen (2020). Meatballs : the ultimate cookbook (First ed.). Kennebunkport, Maine. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-64643-014-7. OCLC 1139766078.
- Dea, Cynthia (9 March 2015). "Where to Find the Best Meatballs in Los Angeles". KCET. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - Tsaturyan, Ruzanna (23 June 2017). "A culinary conflict in the South Caucasus". OpenDemocracy. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - Achaya, K. T. (December 1997). Indian Food Tradition A Historical Companion. Oxford University Press. p. 54. ISBN 0195644166.
- Fatima, Bushra (30 June 2015). "Pakistanis' love for the succulent kofta curry". The Express Tribune. The Express Tribune. Archived from the original on 10 July 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
- "Chiftele | Traditional Meatballs From Romania". Atlas Media. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - Akın, Engin (2015). Essential Turkish cuisine : 200 recipes for small plates and family meals. Helen Cathcart. New York: Stewart, Tabori & Chang, an imprint of Abrams. p. 67. ISBN 978-1-61312-871-8. OCLC 921994379.
- Edelstein, Sari (2010). Food, Cuisine, and Cultural Competency for Culinary, Hospitality, and Nutrition Professionals. Jones & Bartlett Publishers. p. 594. ISBN 9781449618117.
- Abdel Fattah, Iman Adel (5 December 2013). "Bites Fil Beit: Koftet el Gambari – Shrimp kofta". Daily News Egypt. Archived from the original on 3 May 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
- Fatima, Bushra (30 June 2015). "Pakistanis' love for the succulent kofta curry". The Express Tribune. The Express Tribune. Archived from the original on 10 July 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
- Başan, Ghillie (2021). The Turkish cookbook : exploring the food of a timeless cuisine. [London]. ISBN 978-0-7548-3515-8. OCLC 1202053063.
- "طرز تهیه کوفته و انواع آن در شهرهای ایران". Kojaro. Kojaro.
- Achaya, K. T. (December 1997). Indian Food Tradition A Historical Companion. Oxford University Press. p. 54. ISBN 0195644166.
- Aglaia Kremezi and Anissa Hellou, 'What's in the Name of the Dish' in Richard Hosking (ed.), Food and Language: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cooking 2009 (London: Prospect Books, 2010) 206
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