Kofta

Kofta is a family of meatball or meatloaf dishes found in South Asian, Central Asian, Balkan, Middle Eastern, North African, and South Caucasian cuisines. In the simplest form, koftas consist of balls of minced meat – usually beef, chicken, pork, lamb or mutton, or a mixture – mixed with spices and sometimes other ingredients. The earliest known recipes are found in early Arab cookbooks and call for ground lamb.

There are many national and regional variations. There are also vegetable and uncooked versions. Shapes vary and include balls, patties, and cylinders. Sizes typically vary from that of a golf ball to that of an orange.

Etymology
In English, kofta is a loanword borrowed from the Hindi-Urdu कोफ़्ता / and Persian کوفته  kofta meaning pounded meat. The earliest extant use of the word in the Urdu language is attested from the year 1665 in Mulla Nusrati's ʿAlī Nāma. It was first used in English in Qanoon-e-Islam in 1832, and then by James Wise in 1883. The languages of the region of the kofta's origin have adopted the word with minor phonetic variations. Similar foods are called in other languages croquettes, dumplings, meatballs, rissoles, and turnovers.

History
The ancient Roman cookbook Apicius included many meatball-type recipes.

The first appearance of recipes for kofta are in the earliest Arab cookbooks. The earliest recipes are for large ground lamb meatballs triple-glazed in a mixture of saffron and egg yolk. This glazing method spread to the West, where it is referred to as "gilding" or "endoring". Koftas moved to India; according to Alan Davidson, Nargisi Kofta was served at the Mughal court.

Koftas are found from the Indian subcontinent through Central Asia, the Middle East, the Balkans, and northern Africa. Koftas are found in the traditional cuisines of Armenia, Afghanistan, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Georgia, Lebanon, Egypt, Greece, India,  Iran, Morocco, Pakistan, Romania, Serbia, North Macedonia, and Turkey. Kofta is also a popular dish among Assyrian people. In Turkey, it is "a preferred offering at communal gatherings of all kinds", according to Engin Akin. In Armenia and Azerbaijan, it is, along with dolma, lavash, harissa, kebabs, and pahlava, a dish of "clearly symbolic ethnic significance" often argued over by gastronationalists attempting to claim it as one of their own country's traditional dishes that has been co-opted by the other country.

Cooking methods
The basic Ingredient of koftas is usually meat, but they are known for their versatility. There are many different ways to prepare it, like frying, baking, steaming, boiling, or grilling. In traditional preparation methods, kofta is kneaded with fine bulgur and meat, and in some middle eastern countries it is served with the raw meat in the kneaded form.

Innovative fillings and sizes
With the inventive fillings that frequently enhance the flavor profile, koftas provide plenty of opportunity for creative culinary experimentation. Often added into the kofta mixture are nuts, cheese, or eggs. Furthermore, koftas come in a broad range of shapes and sizes, from little oval shaped egg size balls to flatly carved rhombuses in trays, or tennis ball sized koftas. In addition to satisfying personal tastes, this variation in size and shape enables creative display and serving possibilities.

Variations
Generally meat is mixed with spices and often other ingredients such as rice, bulgur, vegetables, or eggs to form a paste. 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. Koftas are sometimes made from fish or vegetables or even cottage cheese rather than red meat. Some versions are stuffed with nuts, cheese, or eggs. Generally the size can vary from the "size of an orange to the size of a golf ball", although some variants are outside that range; tabriz köftesi, which average 20 cm in diameter, are the largest. They can be shaped in various forms including patties, balls, or cylinders. Some versions are uncooked.

Examples

 * Chiftele, a Romanian version using ground pork mixed with mashed potatoes.
 * Çiğ köfte, a Turkish and Armenian version made with bulgur and raw meat, often without raw meat due to health hazards.
 * Mercimek köftesi, Turkish vegan kofta made with bulgur and lentils.
 * Orkh or Oruq an Armenian and Syrian version made with meat and bulgur usually baked or gently fried and served in cylindrical shapes.
 * Ćufte, a Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian style of kofta, typically made from ground beef or ground lamb, and served with a side of cooked potatoes and a salad.
 * İnegöl köfte, a Turkish style of kofta.
 * Islama köfte, a steamed kofta from Turkey.
 * Kibbeh, a Middle Eastern dish in which includes kofte, sometimes served raw.
 * Analı kızlı, a Turkish soup.
 * Kofte Chawal, an Indian subcontinental dish that has meat or vegetable balls in a curry sauce and is served with rice. There are many variations using different ingredients for the balls, such as kofta curries made with paneer, bottle gourd, chicken or mutton.
 * Koofteh Berenji, Koofteh Hamedani, Koofteh Nar, Koofteh Tabrizi and Koofteh Shirin-e Kermanshahi are all Iranian variants of kofta.
 * Malai kofta
 * Nargisi Kofta, an Indian subcontinental dish in which a hard-boiled egg is wrapped in the kofta mixture.
 * Pishtha, a meatball mentioned in the Sushrutha Samhita.
 * Şiş köfte, a Turkish kebab-style kofta.
 * Sulu köfte, a Turkish kofta soup or stew.
 * Tabriz köftesi, an Azerbaijani version unusual for its average diameter of 20 cm.
 * Tomatokeftedes, a Greek vegetarian version of kofta which uses tomatoes.
 * Ktzitzot Khubeza - an Israeli kofta made of mallow, garlic and bread crumbs mixed with egg whites and yolks.
 * Küfte, кюфте in Crimean Tatar cuisine (Crimea, Ukraine).
 * Meatball, As commonly known in America.