AI-generated image
Pideli köfte
Grilled meatballs on flatbread
Pideli köfte: Bursa's grilled köfte on pide with tomato sauce, sizzling butter and yoghurt
TurkishBursa, the city that gave the world İskender, has its own everyday answer for those who don't want doner: pideli köfte, served in workers' lokantas around the Ulu Cami. Small grilled köfte are laid over cubes of soft pide, drenched in a thin tomato sauce, then finished at the table with browned butter poured over so it hisses, with thick yoghurt on the side. It is rich, messy and very satisfying. Chef's tip: warm the pide in the oven before adding the sauce, so it soaks up the juices but keeps some chew.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the köfte
- 1 ⅛ lb beef minceabout 15% fat
- 1 oniongrated, juice squeezed out
- 1 ⅜ oz fresh breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
For the sauce and base
- 1 Turkish pide breadabout 400 g, cut into 3 cm cubes
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 ¼ cups tomato passata
- ¾ cup water
- 2 ⅞ oz butter
- 14 oz thick plain yoghurt
- 4 long green peppersfor grilling
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (5)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Knead 1 ⅛ lb beef mince with 1 onion, 1 ⅜ oz fresh breadcrumbs, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp ground black pepper for 3 minutes, until it binds. Shape into 20 small fingers and chill for 15 minutes.
15 minStep 2: Warm 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan over a medium heat, fry 2 tbsp tomato paste for 1 minute, add 1 ¼ cups tomato passata and ¾ cup water and simmer for 10 minutes. Season lightly.
11 minStep 3: Heat the oven to 350°F (325°F fan) and warm the 1 Turkish pide bread cubes on a tray for 5 minutes, until just crisp at the edges.
5 minStep 4: Cook the köfte and 4 long green peppers on a very hot griddle for 6–8 minutes, turning, until the köfte are browned and cooked through to 160°F and the peppers are blistered.
8 minStep 5: Divide the pide among warm plates, spoon over most of the hot sauce, then add the köfte and peppers and the rest of the sauce.
Step 6: Heat 2 ⅞ oz butter until it foams and smells nutty, then pour it sizzling over each plate. Common mistake: pouring butter that is only melted; it needs to be browned and very hot to sizzle. Serve with 14 oz thick plain yoghurt on the side.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 860 kcal
- Protein
- 42 g
- Carbs
- 62 g
- Fat
- 48 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does pideli köfte take?
- About 50 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of fresh breadcrumbs?
- Crushed crackers or cornflakes, same amount.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Pork souvlaki
This is a pork recipe. Walk through any Greek town after dark, from Athens to Thessaloniki, and the smell of souvlaki stands drifts down the street; cubes of pork shoulder grilled on thin skewers are the country's favourite cheap supper, eaten standing up or at a plastic-table taverna. At home you marinate the meat in lemon, olive oil, garlic and dried oregano, grill it hard and fast, and pile it on warm pitta with tzatziki, tomato and red onion. Chef's tip: cut the pork into even 2.5 cm cubes and leave a little fat on; lean loin dries out, shoulder stays juicy over high heat.
Greek
Pfälzer SaumagenStuffed pig's stomach
Saumagen is the pride of the Palatinate, served at wine-village festivals and family dinners from the Haardt hills to Ludwigshafen. A cleaned pig's stomach is stuffed with diced pork shoulder, pork sausage meat, potato and carrot seasoned with marjoram and nutmeg, poached slowly, then sliced thick and fried until crusty. The stomach works only as a casing and is ordered from a butcher; if you can't get one, bake the same filling in a covered terrine in a water bath. Serve with sauerkraut and mashed potato. Chef's tip: fill the stomach only three-quarters full, or it bursts as the potatoes swell.
German
Chha goshtLamb in buttermilk gravy
Up in the hill villages of Himachal Pradesh, where flocks are walked to summer pastures, lamb is often cooked in chhaachh, the thin buttermilk left after churning butter. Thickened with a spoonful of gram flour, it makes a pale, gently sour gravy that is milder and lighter than the red curries of the plains, and it is a favourite at dhams, the festive meals of the Kangra and Chamba valleys. Serve it with steamed rice or makki ki roti. Chef's tip: whisk the gram flour into the buttermilk until there are no lumps before it goes near the pot; once it hits the heat, any lumps stay lumps.
Indian