Recipe: Jordanian Kofta and Jeera Cabbage
I'd normally have kofta fried, and served as is, but I fancied a change. Did some searching and found a traditional recipe from Jordan. The recipe I found had as it's primary ingredient "Kofta", so I'm going to include the recipe for that too, since not everyone knows how to make Kofta. I've also included my recipe for Jeera Cabbage, which is a nice crunchy side dish. Serves 4-ish.
Kofta:
Minced Beef or Lamb - about a half kilogram.
2 slices of stale bread.
chopped onions
optional chopped red chilli
2 tablespoons of olive oil
3 teaspoons Kofta spice
- Just looking at my jar of Kofta spice it says it contains;
Nutmeg, sharp paprika paste, carnation, Khawlanjan, Wars, pepper, mustard, cinnamon, Sweet spice
It's made in Syria, apparently. Makes one wonder about that "Wars" ingredient. Hand on heart, I've no idea what either Wars or Khawlanjan are. You may track them down in your local Asian or Mediterranean shop or supermarket. For that matter, you're quite likely to find my tub of Kofta Spice there too, which would be a lot easier. I've included a picture for recognition purposes.
Before I had it, I used to use ;
40% Ground Cumin
20% Ground coriander seed
16% ground dark mustard
10% salt
10% cinnamon powder
4% chilli powder
.. in approximate proportions, which made quite a nice spice, though somewhat more a taste of the sub-continent, I think.
Anyway, blend the whole kit and kaboodle. In a blender like. Then you can form the meaty mass into Kofta shaped balls, and then with it as you will. You can deep fry it, and serve it in a pitta, or skewer it with some veg and grill it. Or you can do the following.
Jordanian Kofta:
Make a sauce by adding half a cup of tahini to a quarter cup of lemon juice. Add a pinch of saffron and mix it all until it makes a smooth paste, then add a half a cup of water, and mix until it makes a runny sauce. Add salt to taste.
Place your Kofta in the bottom of a casserole dish, and layer some thinly sliced potato on top. I tend to give the potato about a 4 minute steam in the microwave before I start - I can never get things like Gratins right if I'm starting with completely raw potato.
Bake on about 180 degrees C for twenty minutes. Then pour over about 60% of the sauce, and cook for another 20 minutes. When the dish has been browned on top it's ready to serve. Pour over the remaining sauce, heated, and then divide it up.
Jeera Cabbage:
Heat some olive oil in a pan, and add some whole cumin seeds (aka Jeera), mustard seeds, salt, black pepper, a pinch of chilli powder and a teaspoon turmeric. Toss them until the seeds and the turmeric are cooked, and then add some cross-chopped cabbage. Toss it until the cabbage softens, and the whole lot is a nice yellow, seedy spicey mess. Serve piping next to your Kofta.
Kofta:
Minced Beef or Lamb - about a half kilogram.
2 slices of stale bread.
chopped onions
optional chopped red chilli
2 tablespoons of olive oil
3 teaspoons Kofta spice
- Just looking at my jar of Kofta spice it says it contains;
Nutmeg, sharp paprika paste, carnation, Khawlanjan, Wars, pepper, mustard, cinnamon, Sweet spice
It's made in Syria, apparently. Makes one wonder about that "Wars" ingredient. Hand on heart, I've no idea what either Wars or Khawlanjan are. You may track them down in your local Asian or Mediterranean shop or supermarket. For that matter, you're quite likely to find my tub of Kofta Spice there too, which would be a lot easier. I've included a picture for recognition purposes.
Before I had it, I used to use ;
40% Ground Cumin
20% Ground coriander seed
16% ground dark mustard
10% salt
10% cinnamon powder
4% chilli powder
.. in approximate proportions, which made quite a nice spice, though somewhat more a taste of the sub-continent, I think.
Anyway, blend the whole kit and kaboodle. In a blender like. Then you can form the meaty mass into Kofta shaped balls, and then with it as you will. You can deep fry it, and serve it in a pitta, or skewer it with some veg and grill it. Or you can do the following.
Jordanian Kofta:
Make a sauce by adding half a cup of tahini to a quarter cup of lemon juice. Add a pinch of saffron and mix it all until it makes a smooth paste, then add a half a cup of water, and mix until it makes a runny sauce. Add salt to taste.
Place your Kofta in the bottom of a casserole dish, and layer some thinly sliced potato on top. I tend to give the potato about a 4 minute steam in the microwave before I start - I can never get things like Gratins right if I'm starting with completely raw potato.
Bake on about 180 degrees C for twenty minutes. Then pour over about 60% of the sauce, and cook for another 20 minutes. When the dish has been browned on top it's ready to serve. Pour over the remaining sauce, heated, and then divide it up.
Jeera Cabbage:
Heat some olive oil in a pan, and add some whole cumin seeds (aka Jeera), mustard seeds, salt, black pepper, a pinch of chilli powder and a teaspoon turmeric. Toss them until the seeds and the turmeric are cooked, and then add some cross-chopped cabbage. Toss it until the cabbage softens, and the whole lot is a nice yellow, seedy spicey mess. Serve piping next to your Kofta.