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.

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) ☺️