Kofta is a family ofmeatball ormeatloaf dishes found inSouth Asian,Central Asian,Balkan,Middle Eastern,North African, andSouth Caucasian cuisines. In the simplest form, koftas consist of balls ofminced meat—usually beef, chicken, lamb or mutton, camel, seldom pork, or a mixture—mixed with spices and sometimes other ingredients.[1] The earliest known recipes are found in early Turkish cookbooks and call for ground lamb.
There are many national and regional variations, as well as vegetable and uncooked versions. Shapes vary and include balls, patties, and cylinders. Sizes vary from that of agolf ball to that of an orange.
In English,kofta is aloanword from theHindi-Urdu कोफ़्ता /کوفتہ andPersianکوفتهkofta meaningpounded meat.[1][2][3][4] The earliest extant use of the word in the Urdu language is attested inMulla Nusrati'sʿAlī Nāma (1665).[5][6] It was first used in English inQanoon-e-Islam (1832),[7] and then byJames Wise in 1883.[8] The languages of the region of the kofta's origin have adopted the word with minor phonetic variations.[9] In other languages, similar foods are called croquettes, dumplings, meatballs, rissoles, and turnovers.[9][10]
Theancient Roman cookbookApicius included many meatball-type recipes.[11]
The first appearance of recipes for kofta are in the earliest Arab cookbooks.[12][9] The earliest recipes are for large ground lamb meatballs triple-glazed in a mixture ofsaffron and egg yolk.[12] This glazing method spread to the West, where it is referred to as "gilding" or "endoring".[9] Koftas moved to India; according toAlan Davidson, Nargisi kofta was served at theMughal 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 ofArmenia,[13][14]Afghanistan,[13]Albania,Bosnia and Herzegovina,Bulgaria,[9]Georgia,[14]Lebanon,Palestine,Syria,Egypt,[13][14]Greece,[9]India,[9][13][15]Iran,Morocco,[9]Pakistan,[16]Romania,[17]Serbia,North Macedonia, andTurkey.[13][18] Kofta is also a popular dish amongKurdish people andAssyrian people.[19] InTurkey, it is "a preferred offering at communal gatherings of all kinds", according to Engin Akın.[18] InArmenia andAzerbaijan, it is, along withdolma,lavash,harissa,kebabs, andpahlava, a dish of "clearly symbolic ethnic significance" often argued over bygastronationalists attempting to claim it as one of their own country's traditional dishes that has been co-opted by the other country.[14]
Meat is mixed with spices and often other ingredients such as rice,bulgur, vegetables, or eggs to form a paste.[9] Often added into the kofta mixture are nuts, cheese, or eggs.[20] 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 fromfish or vegetables or even cottage cheese rather than red meat.[21] 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",[16] althoughtabriz köftesi, the largest, average 20 centimetres (8 in) in diameter.[9] They can be shaped in various forms includingpatties, balls, or cylinders.[22] A Levantine version, pronouncedkafta /ˈkɑːftə/, is typically made with minced beef or lamb, mixed with onion, parsley, and spices. It can be shaped into cylinders, patties, or balls, and grilled, baked, or pan-fried, served with sauces, dips, or flatbreads.[23][24]
Variants includeArayes [ar;es], aLevantine dish made from pita bread that is stuffed with kufta and then grilled.[25] InIranian cuisine there are Koofteh Berenji, Koofteh Hamedani, Koofteh Nar,Koofteh Tabrizi and Koofteh Shirin-e Kermanshahi variants.[26]Azerbaijani cuisine hasTabriz köftesi, with an unusually large diameter of some 20 centimetres (8 in).[9]
Bulgarian cuisine hasTatarsko kyufte, aTatar version.[27]Greek cuisine hastomatokeftedes, a vegetarian version with tomatoes,[28] andkolokithokeftedes, with courgettes and feta cheese.[29]Çiğ köfte is aTurkish andArmenian version made withbulgur and raw meat.[30]
In theIndian subcontinent, variants include Kofte chawal, with meat or vegetable balls in acurry sauce, served with rice. Variations use different ingredients for the balls, such aspaneer,bottle gourd,chicken ormutton.[16] Other Indian versions are Malai kofta[31] andNargisi kofta with a hard-boiled egg wrapped in the kofta mixture.[9] Historically, Pishtha meatballs were mentioned in a Sanskrit text on medicine, theSushruta Samhita.[15]
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In Indian cookery, the termkofta denotes a spiced meatball, or a similarly shaped mass of chopped fish or vegetable, cooked in a spicy sauce. In Hindi, the word means literally 'pounded meat'.
The earliest known use of the nounkofta is in the 1880s. OED's earliest evidence for kofta is from 1888, in the writing of W. H. Dawe.kofta is a borrowing from Hindi. Etymons: Hindikofta.
ORIGIN from Urdu and Pers.koftah 'pounded meat'
Na tha har ġalūla nibolī te kam/ Rakhe kofte[pl.] bār golīyāṅ te jam
V. Moosulman [Muslim] Cookery, (including the various Dishes alluded to in this Work). 1. Polaoosپلاؤ. ...Kofta Polaooکوفتہ پلاؤ.
[TheNān-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.
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