Kofta

[[File:Koofteh tabrizi.jpg |thumb |Koofteh Tabrizi from Iran]] '''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, lamb or mutton, camel, seldom pork, or a mixture—mixed with spices and sometimes other ingredients.<ref name="Ayto1994">{{cite book |last1=Ayto |first1=John |title=A Gourmet's Guide: Food and Drink from A to Z |date=1994 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-280025-1 |page=184 |language=en |quote=In Indian cookery, the term ''kofta'' denotes a spiced meatball, or a similarly shaped mass of chopped fish or vegetable, cooked in a spicy sauce. In Hindi, the word means literally 'pounded meat'.}}</ref> The earliest known recipes are found in early Arab cookbooks,<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":0">{{cite book |last=Brown |first=Ellen |title=Meatballs : the ultimate cookbook |year=2020 |publisher=Cider Mill Press |isbn=978-1-64643-014-7 |edition=First |location=Kennebunkport, Maine |pages=11 |oclc=1139766078}}</ref> as well as in the Byzantine Empire,<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|last=Koukoules|first=Phaidon I.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0VhoAAAAMAAJ|title=Βυζαντινών βίος και πολιτισμός|date=1952|publisher=Papazisis Publishers|isbn=9789600201413|volume=5|pages=114-115|language=el}}</ref> and call for ground lamb.

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

== Etymology ==

In English, ''kofta'' is a loanword from the Hindi-Urdu कोफ़्ता / {{Nastaliq |کوفتہ}} and Persian {{lang |fa |کوفته}} ''kofta'' meaning ''pounded meat''.<ref name="Ayto1994"/><ref>{{cite web |title=kofta |url=https://www.oed.com/dictionary/kofta_n?tl=true |publisher=Oxford English Dictionary |access-date=27 December 2023 |date=2023 |quote=The earliest known use of the noun ''kofta'' is in the 1880s. OED's earliest evidence for kofta is from 1888, in the writing of W. H. Dawe. ''kofta'' is a borrowing from Hindi. Etymons: Hindi ''kofta''.}}</ref><ref>{{cite dictionary |title=kofta |dictionary=Concise Oxford English Dictionary: Luxury Edition |publisher=Oxford University Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sYScAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA790 |date=18 August 2011 |editor-last=Stevenson |editor-first=Angus |edition=12th |page=790 |language=en |isbn=978-0-19-960111-0 |editor2-last=Waite |editor2-first=Maurice |quote=ORIGIN from Urdu and Pers. ''koftah'' 'pounded meat'}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title= Origin of Kofte, Turkish köfte Arabic kufta and Hindi and Urdu koftā all from Persian kōfta (Persian kūfte) from passive participle of kōftan to pound, bray |url=https://www.yourdictionary.com/kofte}} </ref> The earliest extant use of the word in the Urdu language is attested in Mulla Nusrati's ''ʿAlī Nāma'' (1665).<ref>{{cite book |last=Nuṣratī |first=Mullā |url=https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/masnavi-ali-nama-mulla-nusrati-ebooks |url-access=registration |title=ʿAlī Nāma |year=1665 |pages=234 |language=ur |script-title=ur:علی نامہ |quote={{Lang |ur-Latn |Na tha har ġalūla nibolī te kam {{noitalic |/}} Rakhe kofte {{noitalic |[pl.]}} bār golīyāṅ te jam}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite dictionary |url=http://udb.gov.pk/result_details.php?word=191385 |date=June 1993 |orig-date=22 vols pub. 1977–2010 |editor-last=Fatehpuri |editor-first=Farman |editor-link=Farman Fatehpuri |title=kofta |script-title=ur:کوفتہ |dictionary=Urdu Lughat (Tareekhi Usool Par) ''[Urdu Dictionary on Historical Principles]'' |publisher=Urdu Dictionary Board |volume=15 |language=Urdu}}</ref> It was first used in English in ''Qanoon-e-Islam'' (1832),<ref>{{cite book |last=Shurreef |first=Jaffur |title=Qanoon-e-Islam |title-link=Qanoon-e-Islam |date=1832 |publisher=Parbury, Allen, and Co. |location=London, England |page=xxx |language=ur |translator-last=Herklots |translator-first=Gerhard Andreas |script-title=ur:قانونِ اسلام |trans-title=The Customs of the Moosulmans of India; Comprising a Full and Exact Account of Their Various Rites and Ceremonies, from the Moment of Birth Till the Hour of Death |chapter=Appendix |quote=V. Moosulman [Muslim] Cookery, (including the various Dishes alluded to in this Work). 1. Polaoos {{Lang |ur |{{Nastaliq |پلاؤ}}}}. ... {{Lang |ur-Latn |Kofta Polaoo}} {{Lang |ur |{{Nastaliq |کوفتہ پلاؤ}}}}. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0ONkAAAAcAAJ&pg=PR30 |quote-pages=xxvii, xxx}}</ref> and then by James Wise in 1883.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wise |first=James |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ba8Ov8huExoC&pg=PA97 |title=Notes on the Races, Castes and Trades of Eastern Bengal |date=1883 |publisher=Harrison and Sons |location=London, England |pages=97 |language=en |chapter=Nán-baí, Roṭi-wálah |quote=[The {{Lang |ur-Latn |Nān-bā{{rhr}}ī}}{{'s}}] bill of fare includes a delicious, richly-flavoured curry, Kofta, or pounded meat, roasts, and puláos. ... Koftá—hashed or pounded, and fried in Ghí. |author-link=James Wise (civil surgeon)}}</ref> The languages of the region of the kofta's origin have adopted the word with minor phonetic variations.<ref name=":8"/> In other languages, similar foods are called croquettes, dumplings, meatballs, rissoles, and turnovers.<ref name=":8"/><ref name=":1">{{cite book |last=Herbst |first=Ron |title=The deluxe food lover's companion |date=2015 |others=Sharon Tyler Herbst |publisher=Barron's |isbn=978-1-4380-7621-8 |edition=2nd |location=Hauppauge, New York |pages=261–262 |oclc=909914756}}</ref>

== History==

The ancient Roman cookbook ''Apicius'' included many meatball-type recipes.<ref>Sally Grainger, ''Cooking Apicius: Roman Recipes for Today'', Prospect Books, 2006, {{ISBN |1-903018-44-7}}, p. 17-18</ref>

The first appearance of recipes for kofta are in the earliest Arab cookbooks;<ref name=":8">{{cite book |last=Davidson |first=Alan |author-link=Alan Davidson (food writer) |title=The Oxford Companion to Food |others=Tom Jaine, Soun Vannithone |year=2014 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-967733-7 |edition=3rd |location=New York, NY |page=448 |oclc=890807357}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> Kofta were also found in the Byzantine Empire.<ref name=":4" /> The earliest recipes are for large ground lamb meatballs triple-glazed in a mixture of saffron and egg yolk.<ref name=":0"/> This glazing method spread to the West, where it is referred to as "gilding" or "endoring".<ref name=":8"/> Koftas moved to India; according to Alan Davidson, Nargisi kofta was served at the Mughal court.<ref name=":8"/>

Koftas are found from the Indian subcontinent through Central Asia, the Middle East, the Balkans, and northern Africa.<ref name=":8"/> Koftas are found in the traditional cuisines of Armenia,<ref name=":7"/><ref name=":6">{{cite web |last=Tsaturyan |first=Ruzanna |date=23 June 2017 |title=A culinary conflict in the South Caucasus |url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/culinary-conflict-south-caucasus-karabakh/ |access-date=2021-08-24 |website=OpenDemocracy}}</ref> Afghanistan,<ref name=":7">{{cite web |last=Dea |first=Cynthia |date=2015-03-09 |title=Where to Find the Best Meatballs in Los Angeles |url=https://www.kcet.org/food-discovery/food/where-to-find-the-best-meatballs-in-los-angeles |access-date=2021-08-24 |website=KCET |language=en}}</ref> Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria,<ref name=":8"/> Georgia,<ref name=":6"/> Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Egypt,<ref name=":7"/><ref name=":6"/> Greece,<ref name=":8"/> India,<ref name=":8"/><ref name=":7"/><ref name=":42">{{cite book |last1=Achaya |first1=K. T. |author-link=K. T. Achaya |url=https://archive.org/details/IndianFoodTraditionAHistoricalCompanionAchayaK.T./page/n91 |title=Indian Food Tradition A Historical Companion |date=December 1997 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0195644166 |pages=54}}</ref> Iran, Morocco,<ref name=":8"/> Pakistan,<ref name=":22">{{cite web |last=Fatima |first=Bushra |date=2015-06-30 |title=Pakistanis' love for the succulent kofta curry |url=http://tribune.com.pk/article/28384/pakistanis-love-for-the-succulent-kofta-curry |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200710044838/https://tribune.com.pk/article/28384/pakistanis-love-for-the-succulent-kofta-curry |archive-date=10 July 2020 |access-date=2020-07-05 |website=The Express Tribune}}</ref> Romania,<ref>{{cite web |title=Chiftele: Traditional Meatballs From Romania |url=https://www.tasteatlas.com/chiftele |access-date=2021-08-24 |website=Atlas Media}}</ref> Serbia, North Macedonia, and Turkey.<ref name=":7"/><ref name=":5">{{cite book |last=Akın |first=Engin |title=Essential Turkish cuisine : 200 recipes for small plates and family meals |publisher=Stewart, Tabori & Chang, an imprint of Abrams |others=Helen Cathcart |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-61312-871-8 |location=New York |page=67 |oclc=921994379}}</ref> Kofta is also a popular dish among Kurdish people and Assyrian people.<ref>{{cite book |last=Edelstein |first=Sari |title=Food, Cuisine, and Cultural Competency for Culinary, Hospitality, and Nutrition Professionals |publisher=Jones & Bartlett |year=2010 |isbn=978-1449618117 |page=594 |quote=}}</ref> In Turkey, it is "a preferred offering at communal gatherings of all kinds", according to Engin Akın.<ref name=":5"/> 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.<ref name=":6"/>

== Cooking methods ==

Meat is mixed with spices and often other ingredients such as rice, bulgur, vegetables, or eggs to form a paste.<ref name=":8"/> Often added into the kofta mixture are nuts, cheese, or eggs.<ref>Petrosian, Irina, and David Underwood. Armenian Food: Fact, Fiction & Folklore. University of California Press, 2006.</ref> 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.<ref name=":8"/> Koftas are sometimes made from fish or vegetables or even cottage cheese rather than red meat.<ref>{{cite web |last=Abdel Fattah |first=Iman Adel |title=Bites Fil Beit: Koftet el Gambari – Shrimp kofta |url=http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2013/12/05/bites-fil-beit-koftet-el-gambari-shrimp-kofta/ |website=Daily News Egypt |access-date=19 April 2015 |date=5 December 2013 |archive-date=3 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503022013/http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2013/12/05/bites-fil-beit-koftet-el-gambari-shrimp-kofta/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Some versions are stuffed with nuts, cheese, or eggs.<ref name=":8"/> Generally the size can vary from the "size of an orange to the size of a golf ball",<ref name=":22"/> although ''tabriz köftesi'', the largest, average {{Convert|20|cm|in|0}} in diameter.<ref name=":8"/> They can be shaped in various forms including patties, balls, or cylinders.<ref>{{cite book |last=Başan |first=Ghillie |title=The Turkish cookbook: exploring the food of a timeless cuisine |year=2021 |publisher=Lorenz Books |isbn=978-0-7548-3515-8 |location=[London] |oclc=1202053063 |pages=93–94 }}</ref> A Levantine version, pronounced ''kafta'' /ˈkɑːftə/, is typically made with minced beef or lamb, mixed with onion, parsley, and spices. It can be shaped into cylinders, patties, or balls, and grilled, baked, or pan-fried, served with sauces, dips, or flatbreads.<ref>Başan, Ghillie (2021). ''Making Levantine Cuisine: Modern Foodways of the Eastern Mediterranean''. University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-7548-3515-8.</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Levantine Kafta Recipe |url=https://cookpad.com/eng/recipes/8221216 |website=Cookpad |date=22 June 2025 |access-date=30 October 2025}}</ref>

== Variants ==

Variants include {{ill |Arayes |ar |العرايس |es |ʿArāyes}}, a Levantine dish made from pita bread that is stuffed with kufta and then grilled.<ref>{{cite news |title=We learned how to make Yafo's arayes in Charlotte — now you can make them, too |url=https://www.charlotteobserver.com/charlottefive/c5-food-drink/article311577811.html |access-date=17 September 2025 |work=The Charlotte Observer |date=27 Aug 2025}}</ref> In Iranian cuisine there are Koofteh Berenji, Koofteh Hamedani, Koofteh Nar, Koofteh Tabrizi and Koofteh Shirin-e Kermanshahi variants.<ref>{{cite web |title=طرز تهیه کوفته و انواع آن در شهرهای ایران |url=https://www.kojaro.com/2020/8/26/190634/iranian-meatball-recipe/ |website=Kojaro |date=29 August 2020 }}</ref> Azerbaijani cuisine has Tabriz köftesi, with an unusually large diameter of some {{Convert|20|cm|in|0}}.<ref name=":8"/>

Bulgarian cuisine has Tatarsko kyufte, a Tatar version.<ref>{{cite web |title=Татарско кюфте |url=https://matekitchen.com/recipes/tatarsko-kyufte/ |access-date=2025-02-14 |website=MateKitchen |language=bg-BG}}</ref> Greek cuisine has tomatokeftedes, a vegetarian version with tomatoes,<ref>Aglaia Kremezi and Anissa Hellou, 'What's in the Name of the Dish' in Richard Hosking (ed.), ''Food and Language: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cooking 2009'' (London: Prospect Books, 2010) 206</ref> and ''kolokithokeftedes'', with courgettes and feta cheese.<ref>{{cite news |last=Sakellis |first=Eleni |title=Mezedes to enjoy with Greece's favorite spirits |url=https://www.thenationalherald.com/mezedes-to-enjoy-with-greeces-favorite-spirits |work=The National Herald |date=26 June 2020}}</ref> Çiğ köfte is a Turkish and Armenian version made with bulgur and raw meat.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cetinkaya |first1=Figen |last2=Mus |first2=Tulay Elal |last3=Cibik |first3=Recep |last4=Levent |first4=Belkis |last5=Gulesen |first5=Revasiye |title=Assessment of microbiological quality of cig kofte (raw consumed spiced meatball): Prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility of Salmonella |journal=Food Control |date=July 2012 |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=15–18 |doi=10.1016/j.foodcont.2012.01.001 }}</ref>

In Kurdish cuisine there is doughawa, though it can be stuffed with meat; the kufta is usually stuffed with fried onions and eggs, while the kofta itself is in yogurt soup.

In the Indian subcontinent, variants include Kofte chawal, with meat or vegetable balls in a curry sauce, served with rice. Variations use different ingredients for the balls, such as paneer, bottle gourd, chicken or mutton.<ref name=":22"/> Other Indian versions are Malai kofta<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/malai-kofta-recipe/ |title=Malai Kofta Recipe |website=Swasthi's Recipes |date=27 August 2017 }}</ref> and Nargisi kofta with a hard-boiled egg wrapped in the kofta mixture.<ref name=":8"/> Historically, Pishtha meatballs were mentioned in a Sanskrit text on medicine, the ''Sushruta Samhita''.<ref name=":42"/>

<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths="175" heights="140"> File:MalaiKofta.jpg |''Malai kofta'', a dish common in the cuisine of the Indian subcontinent File:Koofteh tabrizi.jpg |alt=Three eight-inch meatballs in sauce |Iranian ''Tabrizi kofta'' include yellow split peas and potatoes, as well as minced meat. File:Kofte Chawal from India.jpg |alt=Sauced meatballs with rice |''Kofte chawal'' from India (vegetarian kofta made with bottle gourd), served with rice File:Mixed grill - Khan el-Khalili - Cairo, Egypt.jpg |Egyptian koftet el hati on a mixed grill platter, served with tehina File:Cuisine arménienne - Sini Kofte (à gauche) et deux Mitchougov Kofte (à droite).jpg |Armenian types of kofte File:Orkh-Oruq.jpg |Orkh, Armenian kofta made with meat and bulgur served in cylindrical shapes File:NargisiKofta.jpg |Nargesi kofta, a popular dish in Lucknow and Karachi File:Mercimekkoftesi.jpg | Mercimek köftesi, Turkish plant-based kofta made with lentils and bulgur </gallery>

==See also==

* List of meatball dishes * Chiftele in Romania * Mercimek köftesi in Turkey * Ćufte in the Balkans * İnegöl köfte in Turkey * Islama köfte in Turkey * Kibbeh in the Middle East * Şiş köfte, a Turkish kebab-style * Sulu köfte, a Turkish kofta soup * Koftet el hati in Egypt * Koftet rozz in Egypt * Ktzitzot Khubeza in Israel * Meatball in America

==References==

== External links ==

{{Cuisine of Albania}} {{Cuisine of Greece}} {{Cuisine of Egypt}} {{Cuisine of Iran |bread}} {{Cuisine of Lebanon}} {{Curry in the United Kingdom}} {{Indian dishes}} {{Levantine cuisine}} {{Pakistani dishes}} {{Serbian cuisine}}

Category:Urdu words and phrases Category:Arab cuisine Category:Assyrian cuisine Category:Balkan cuisine Category:South Asian cuisine Category:Central Asian cuisine Category:Middle Eastern cuisine  Category:Meatballs Category:Kofta Category:Middle Eastern grilled meats

hu:Török konyha#Húsgombócok Category:Byzantine cuisine