İnegöl Köfte
Ingredients
- 500 gr. lean minced veal/lamb
- 1 tsp. baking powder or bicarbonate of soda
- 2 tsp. lemon juice
- 2 tbsp. water
- ½ onion, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp. finely chopped parsley
- ½ tsp. dried mint (optional)
- 1 level tsp. salt
- Good grinding of black pepper
- 1 tbsp. water
- Olive oil, butter for frying
- Note: In Turkey these would be made with veal - I used lamb for these with excellent results.
Method
Note that the first stage of making these köftes involves leaving the meat to rest for an hour or two or even overnight before adding the remainder of the ingredients.
Place the minced lamb in a bowl and mix in the baking powder (or bicarbonate of soda), lemon juice and water. Knead well and leave to rest in the fridge, covered with clingfilm.
After resting the meat, chop the onion in a small chopper so that it is really fine, or your can grate it. Add it to the meat together with the remaining ingredients. Knead well.
Keeping your hands slightly moist, by dipping in a little cold water, take small pieces of the İnegöl köfte mix and form into cocktail sausage size and shape. Fry or griddle.
These freeze extremely well uncooked. Put them individually onto a baking sheet, place in freezer and when almost frozen, pack into freezer bags. This way they don’t stick to one another and you can take out the amount you need at any one time.
To Fry the köfte: Put a little olive oil and a knob of butter in a frying pan and heat gently, fry the İnegöl köftes until browned on each side, cover with a lid and leave on a low light until any water released is absorbed and the köftes cooked through.
To Griddle: Heat griddle to a medium heat, brush köftes with a little olive oil and brown evenly on each side.
Serve with salad or rice, or as part of a barbecue.
