bonappetit
Kofteh Tabrizi
These meatballs made of beef, rice, and split peas are stuffed with dried fruit and braised in a flavorful tomato sauce—a hearty, satisfying labor of love.
👥 6 Servings👤 Cody Ma📖 bonappetit
🥘 Ingredients
Check off ingredients as you prepare them:
🍳 Cookware
- ●pot
- ●bowl
- ●oven
- ●saucepan
- ●dutch oven
📝 Preparation Steps
1
Preheat oven to 375°. Cook ¾ cup basmati rice, rinsed until water runs almost clear, in a large pot of boiling water (you are cooking it like pasta, so you want it to have plenty of room to cook and expand), stirring often to keep it from sticking to the bottom, until rice is almost completely tender but still with a slight bite in the center, 8–⏱️ 10 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold running water to cool. Transfer to a large bowl.
2
Place ¾ cup yellow split peas in a medium saucepan; pour in water to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat so water is at a simmer and cook until split peas are tender but still maintain their shape, 30–⏱️ 40 minutes. Drain and add to bowl with rice.
3
Meanwhile, combine ½ cup dried apricots, coarsely chopped, ½ cup dried prunes, coarsely chopped, and 1 Tbsp. dried barberries, rinsed, or dried currants, in a small bowl. (If any of your fruit is particularly dried out, soak in a bowl of hot water for a few minutes first. Drain before combining with the other dried fruit.)
. dried barberries, rinsed, or dried currants, divided3 Tbsp
4
Heat 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil in a medium Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium-high. Cook 1 medium onion, thinly sliced, stirring occasionally, until softened and golden, 5–⏱️ 7 minutes. Add one 6-oz. can tomato paste; cook, stirring often, until deepened in color, about ⏱️ 3 minutes. Add 1 tsp. ground lemon omani, 1 tsp. ground turmeric, ½ tsp. freshly ground white pepper, 1 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and 1 tsp. dried mint and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about ⏱️ 30 seconds. Add ¼ cup fresh lemon juice and 4 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat so sauce is at a simmer; cook until thickened and darkened in color, 20–⏱️ 30 minutes.
. vegetable oil3 Tbspmedium onion, thinly sliced, plus ½ small onion, coarsely grated16-oz. can tomato paste1. ground lemon omani (dried black lime)1 tsp. ground turmeric1 tsp
5
Meanwhile, add 3 large eggs, 1 lb. ground beef, ½ cup finely chopped chives, ½ cup finely chopped parsley, ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro, 2 Tbsp. finely chopped tarragon, 1 Tbsp. dried summer savory or oregano, ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper, ½ small onion, coarsely grated, remaining 1 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and remaining 1½ tsp. dried mint to bowl with rice and split peas and mix to combine (be careful not to overmix; you want everything to be evenly combined, but mixture should not be tacky). Divide into 6 portions. Working one at a time, shape portions into patties. Gently press a scoop of dried fruit mixture and 2 walnut halves into the center and fold meat mixture up and over filling to enclose; gently press into a ball.
large eggs3. ground beef1 lb. finely chopped tarragon2 Tbsp. dried summer savory or oregano1 Tbspmedium onion, thinly sliced, plus ½ small onion, coarsely grated1½ tsp. dried mint, divided2walnut halves12
6
Carefully place meatballs in sauce; cover pot and transfer to oven. Braise meatballs until cooked through and tender, about 1½ hours.
7
Melt 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter in a small saucepan over medium. Add pinch of ground cinnamon, pinch of sugar, and remaining 2 Tbsp. dried barberries, rinsed, or dried currants (soak in hot water first if needed). Cook, swirling to coat, until fragrant, about ⏱️ 30 seconds; remove from heat.
. unsalted butter2 TbspPinch of ground cinnamonPinch of sugar. dried barberries, rinsed, or dried currants, divided3 Tbsp
8
Spoon some sauce onto each plate; top with a meatball and scatter some cinnamon-sugar barberries over.
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