Türkiye
Photo: E4024, CC BY-SA 4.0, croppedÇiğ köfte
/tʃiː cœfˈte/CHEE kerf-TEH
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- When
- Snack
- Taste
- Spicy
- Made with
- Wheat & flourVegetables
History
Çiğ köfte means "raw meatballs". Traditionally, very lean raw beef or lamb was kneaded for a long time with fine bulgur, isot pepper flakes, tomato and pepper paste, onion and spices, until the heat of the spices and the kneading "cooked" it. It is a speciality of Şanlıurfa in south-east Türkiye. A legend links it to the time of the prophet Abraham, in Urfa, when a hunter had no fire to cook. Since 2008, selling it with raw meat has been banned for health reasons, so shops across the country sell a meatless version made of bulgur, wrapped in lettuce leaves or flatbread with lemon and pomegranate molasses.
Sources
