Köfte spice

Cig, Icli, Sulu or Izmir?

For everyone who doesn't know what to do with these names at first: These are the different versions in which Köfte is available. “What is kofta anyway?” you ask yourself? Well, let's start with this: Derived from Persian and Arabic, this is the name for a Turkish meatball that is available in many different recipe variations. Depending on the type, they are prepared in different shapes and with different strong spices and then grilled, baked or fried.

So far so good, but what do these different Turkish words mean? The Izmir, or Sulu Köfte, for example, are made from minced meat, pepper, potatoes, tomatoes and other ingredients cooked in a casserole. Icli Köfte, on the other hand, are large, flat bulgur pockets into which fried and heavily seasoned minced meat is filled. And the Cig Köfte, which means “raw kofte” in Turkish, are, as the name suggests, raw and not fried or grilled meatballs. As a rule, they are made from lamb meat, which should be particularly low in fat. You can also add bulgur, lemons and tomato paste to the mixture.

And that's not all! There are significantly more recipes and types of preparation in which the shape, meat, spices, method of preparation and so on are varied. Whether rolled as a ball, pressed as a flatbread, rolled as a narrow roll - all kofte!

The right spices are crucial!

In the case of kofta, the aroma is dominated by the spices in addition to the meat's own taste and the process of searing or braising. They should be strong and stand out when eating to complement the meat and other ingredients such as potatoes. With the Ankerkraut Spice mixture, you have the crucial components mixed together in the jar: black pepper and chili flakes add a certain spicy note, sea salt, garlic, cumin, garlic and coriander seeds do the rest and parsley completes the mix as a herb.

For perfect, easy and quick preparation, if you want to make the Turkish meat dish yourself, all you have to do is mix a few spoonfuls of the spice into the mince and fry, bake or braise everything - just as you like! You can also be sure that you won't have any onions, sugar, additives or flavor enhancers in your food!

Our favorite kofta recipe

To make it easier for you to get started when you try this southern specialty for the first time and make it easier for yourself, you can our favorite recipe for kofta orientate. This should make your meat really spicy and juicy - this is ensured, among other things, by the chopped tomatoes in the sauce and ours finely balanced spice mixture. Many kofta recipes also use ingredients such as oregano, clove powder or cinnamon. And grated cheese can also be wonderfully mixed into the meat to give the whole thing a certain creaminess. It is also wonderfully suitable for baking kofta from the oven in a casserole dish.

What you may not have known is that you can even make this dish vegetarian! Then of course the mince is omitted and potatoes and bulgur can be used instead. The spices go wonderfully with it here too and give it a strong aroma, even completely meat-free in the veggie version. You can also stir some ginger and/or spinach into the vegetarian dough. Fried rice or a crunchy tomato salad with parsley are suitable as a side dish.