İçli Köfte: Stuffed Bulgur Kibbeh

İçli köfte belongs to southeastern Turkey, where nearly every province has its own version. It is one of the handful of Turkish dishes that has genuinely travelled — its closest relatives are in Arab cooking, where it is known as kibbeh.

It is usually either boiled or fried. Both are good, and they are different dishes.

The ingredient list is short. The shaping is what takes time, and it is the part that takes practice.

Makes about 12

Ingredients

For the shell

1 cup fine bulgur (köftelik)
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 onion, grated
3 1/2 oz very finely ground beef, twice ground
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons semolina

For the filling

7 oz ground beef, medium fat
1 onion
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 oz walnuts, finely ground
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon red pepper paste

Method

Make the filling

Dice the onion finely.

Melt the butter in a pan and add the onion and ground beef. Cook until the meat has browned and any liquid has cooked away.

Now add the remaining ingredients in this order: red pepper paste, tomato paste, ground walnuts, salt, red pepper flakes, cumin, black pepper.

The order is traditional and it does make sense. The pastes need heat and fat to lose their raw edge, the walnuts need a moment to toast, and the ground spices go in last because they burn quickly and lose their aroma with prolonged cooking.

Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, then take off the heat and let it cool completely. Warm filling will tear the shell.

Make the shell

Put the bulgur in a deep bowl with the twice-ground beef, semolina, flour, grated onion, egg and salt.

Add the water gradually and knead. Keep kneading — this needs 10 minutes at least, until the mixture is completely smooth and holds together like a dough with no loose grains.

This is the step people rush, and it is why shells crack. Underworked bulgur has no elasticity and splits the moment you try to stretch it.

If it feels stiff, wet your hands rather than adding more water to the bowl.

Shape

Take a piece the size of a golf ball and roll it smooth between your palms.

Push your thumb into the center and work the hole outward and upward, rotating the ball against your palm, until you have a thin-walled shell. Keep your hands wet throughout.

Thin is the goal. A well-made içli köfte has a shell you can almost see through, and the walls should be even — thick spots stay doughy and thin spots burst.

Spoon in the cooled filling, then pinch the opening closed and roll it gently between your palms to seal and shape it into a football.

Set them aside on a tray as you go.

Fry

Heat sunflower oil in a deep pan to 340°F. If you have no thermometer, a small piece of the shell mixture should sizzle steadily and rise to the surface within a few seconds.

Fry a few at a time, turning with tongs, until deep golden all over — about 4 to 5 minutes.

Do not crowd the pan. Too many at once drops the oil temperature and the shells absorb oil instead of crisping.

Drain on a rack rather than paper towel, which traps steam underneath and softens the base.

Serve hot, with lemon wedges.

Chef’s notes

Boiled version: drop the shaped köfte into simmering salted water and cook until they float, then a further 2 to 3