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.
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.
– 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) ☺️