Name: SİNİ KÖFTESİ
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Turkish
Ingredients: For the bulgur dough; 1 medium potato, quartered and thinly sliced; 1+1/4 cup of water (310 ml); 1 cup fine-ground bulgur (200 g, bulgur is boiled, dried and cracked wheat grains and it comes in different sizes for different use. You can buy it from Turkish markets or order online); 200 g minced meat, double ground, (fat-free or low-fat round, you can use 100% beef or 100% lamb); 1 teaspoon cumin; 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1 heaped teaspoon red pepper paste (If you don’t have pepper paste, skip this and add more salt and ½ teaspoon sweet paprika); 3 pinches of black pepper; For the filling; 200 g minced meat, double ground, (rib, you can use 100% beef or 100% lamb); 2 medium onions, diced; 3 pinches of salt; 3 pinches of black pepper; 1 tablespoon butter; 2 handfuls of walnuts, chopped; 1 teaspoon pomegranate sour, also known as pomegranate molasses; 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, (40-45 ml); A handful of raw pistachios (any nuts would work great); Pickles; Savoury yoghurt; Fresh mint

SİNİ KÖFTESİ is on the menu in Book recipe, and we are going to teach you how to make this delicious recipe from scratch!

Call it Sini Köftesi, Kıbbeh or Bulgur pie… They all mean the same insanely amazing and heavenly dish; bulgur dough filled with nutty, sour and delicious minced meat.

Beautiful both inside and out, this recipe is guaranteed to be a feast both to your eyes and your tongue! ????

Follow along with the 📝 recipes below👇🏾👇🏾

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SİNİ KÖFTESİ

Rating: 5.0/5
( 1 voted )

Serves: 8 Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cooking Time: 40 Minutes 40 Minutes Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

For the bulgur dough

1 medium potato, quartered and thinly sliced
1+1/4 cup of water (310 ml)
1 cup fine-ground bulgur (200 g, bulgur is boiled, dried and cracked wheat grains and it comes in different sizes for different use. You can buy it from Turkish markets or order online)
200 g minced meat, double ground, (fat-free or low-fat round, you can use 100% beef or 100% lamb)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 heaped teaspoon red pepper paste (If you don’t have pepper paste, skip this and add more salt and ½ teaspoon sweet paprika)
3 pinches of black pepper

For the filling

200 g minced meat, double ground, (rib, you can use 100% beef or 100% lamb)
2 medium onions, diced
3 pinches of salt
3 pinches of black pepper
1 tablespoon butter
2 handfuls of walnuts, chopped
1 teaspoon pomegranate sour, also known as pomegranate molasses

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, (40-45 ml)
A handful of raw pistachios (any nuts would work great)
Pickles
Savoury yoghurt
Fresh mint

Instructions

Place the potatoes with water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn the heat on low and simmer until potatoes are soft. Leaving some water in the pan will help soften the bulgur. Add in the bulgur. Mash and mix the potatoes with a fork and put the lid on. Set aside until bulgur is soft.
Meanwhile, for the filling, heat a large frying pan on high heat and add the minced meat in. To sear the minced meat, sauté on high heat for a couple of minutes, stirring occasionally. Cooking on high heat will help to keep minced meat juicy by sealing it.
Add in the onions when the minced meat turns brown. I know, the amount of onion looks like too much for the minced meat but onions will keep the mixture moist and full of flavour, so you won’t end up with dry minced meat.
Turn the heat down and sauté for 10 minutes until the onions are transparent. If some of the mixtures stick to the pan and get brown, add some hot water and scrape the bottom to bring all the flavours back to the mixture.
Season with salt and black pepper.
Add in the butter and walnuts and cook for another minute.
Pour in the pomegranate sour and turn the heat off. Set aside to cool it down. For the vegetarian version, you can grate cheese or sauté mushroom with onions like minced meat.
Preheat your oven to 180 C (355 F) on upper and lower heat, without a fan. Position the rack on the middle shelf of the oven.
Transfer the potato bulgur mixture to a large bowl. Add in the minced meat, cumin, red pepper flakes, red pepper paste, salt and black pepper.
For the vegetarian version, use 1,5 potatoes for the dough. Add two egg whites and three tablespoons of flour.
Knead the dough until well combined for about six minutes or you can use a food processor. Take a handful of the mixture and flatten it in your hands, if there are small cracks on the sides, add some hot water to soften the mixture or it will break.
Divide the dough into two pieces, one being slightly larger.
Cover the bottom of a round tray (around 30-35 cm/12-14 in) with olive oil and spread the larger piece by pressing.
Place the filling which is by then at room temperature on top. Leave a 1 cm (around the thickness of your finger) gap from the sides.
Place the other piece of the dough on plastic wrap and flatten by pressing. You can get your hands to make it easier to roll out. The plastic wrap will prevent the dough from sticking to your work surface and make it easier to transfer on top of the filling.
Flip the dough with plastic wrap and cover the filling. Merge the top and the bottom part of the dough with the help of a wooden spatula. Wetting, again, will help ease the process.
Here comes the fun part, shaping! For the easy one press a glass on the centre of the dough and make slices from centre to side or for the fancy diamond shape, you can play the video in slow motion and follow the detailed explanation.
Pour the olive oil over the entire kibbeh and pat with your hands to spread it evenly.
Sprinkle the pistachios on top. You can soak them in hot water for 10 minutes to peel easily if your pistachios are skin-on like the one I have used.
Bake for 30-35 minutes and your heavenly kibbeh is ready to enjoy! Serve with pickles, savoury yoghurt and some fresh mint leaves.