This is one of those dishes which varies (also in choice of meat) from country to country (kufte, köfte, kofta, maybe even čufte?). In Slovenia we would call them čevapčiči and they are a staple meat choice on each barbecue (Wikipedia disagrees, but hey). But nobody makes them anymore because shaping čevapčiči is a hard job; a machine will always do it better.
Same is with these köfte. But they are lovely even if they are ugly.
You can serve it with hummus and fried pita bread (quartered and then fried in olive oil).
Ingredients for 2 persons - 400g ground beef - 1 onion, coarsely grated - 1 tsp hot chilli flakes - 10-20g of chopped parsley - couple of mint leaves - 2 garlic cloves, finely grated - salt, pepper (be creative with herbs, nobody will arrest you)
Method - put meat in a big bowl, add 1.0-1.5% of meat weight of salt - grate onion and garlic directly into the bowl, it's easier - add all the other ingredients - knead the mixture together with your hands - bravo, good job! - form köfte (like a torpedo), between 50-60g of mixture for each (they will shrink while you cook them) - grill or shallow fry for 8-10 minutes
No link to the recipe, adapted from the book
Samin Nosrat, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking, p. 356
