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Koofteh baghali, fava bean meatballs with dill

This recipe comes from central Iran, the Isfahan region. My grandmother was from Zavareh, e small town in the middle of the desert near Isfahan, and this dish was her specialty. I try to replicate as she made this for the whole family on weekends.

The season of the fava beans is in the mid spring early summer. In Iran, people buy kilos and after peeling, they store them in freezer to enjoy various dishes made of it for whole year.

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Ingredients | 4 servings

  • 530g/12oz minced Meat (with 30% fat)
  • 350g/12oz Rice (basmati, Thai or similar)
  • 120g/4oz Dill (finely chopped)
  • 4 Onions
  • 350g/12oz Fava Beans (cut in half)
  • 1 tsp Turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp Cumin
  • Salt and Pepper
  • Cinnamon (to taste)

Preparations

– Wash the rice until the water is clear.

– Grate 1 medium onion and squeeze to discard excessive water.

– In a big bowl add rice, grate onion, meat, dill, turmeric, cumin, salt and pepper.

Smash them with a meat mallet and make a sticky paste. The meat’s fat acts as a glue.

– Shape the paste into balls (smaller than tennis balls) and put them aside.

The final pot

– In a casseruole, stir fry 3 chopped onions, until translucent.

– Add a bit of turmeric, salt and pepper and stir.

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– Pour hot boiling water to almost half of the pot and stir.

– Place the koofteh/meatballs one by one, gently in the pot. Make sure the meatballs shape is intact.

– Only the the tips of koofteh should remain out of water.

➡️ Important: each meatballs should have 1 inch/2cm of distance from the others. Because when the rice cooks their volume will grow.

– ⏳Put the lid on, cook on low heat untill the juice is reduced to 1/4th.

Last touch: 10 minutes before serving add a bit of cinnamon on the top of each meatball.

Serve koofteh with pickles, plain greek yogurt and salad.

Noosh e jan (Buon appetite) ☺️

4.8/5 (4 Reviews)
Bahareh: Welcome to Foodcraftz! I'm Bahareh, a cook who started this food blog as a side project. Hope you find the recipes interesting I try to add more every month. Thanks for visiting!

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