köfte

Köfte is a category of meatball or patty dishes in Turkish cuisine. It is typically prepared from ground meat—commonly beef or lamb, sometimes a mixture with veal—mixed with finely chopped onions, garlic, parsley, and seasonings such as salt, black pepper, cumin, and red pepper. A binding agent such as soaked bread or breadcrumbs and sometimes egg is used. The mixture is shaped into small ovals or disks and cooked by grilling, pan-frying, or baking. A raw variant, çiğ köfte, is prepared with bulgur and spices and served without cooking in some regions.

In Turkish cooking, köfte is a versatile dish that can be served on flatbread or with rice or bulgur, and is often accompanied by onions, yogurt, lemon, and a simple salad. Sauces such as tomato or yogurt-based dressings are common, and the dish is frequently encountered as street food as well as a home-cooked staple.

There are many regional forms in Turkey, including grilled köfte, fried köfte, and town-based varieties such as İnegöl köfte, which are distinguished by texture and spice blends.

The name köfte derives from the Persian kufta, meaning “pounded” or “ground meat,” and cognate terms appear across many languages, including kofta, kofte, and kefta, in the Middle East, the Balkans, the Caucasus, and parts of South Asia. The concept is related to similar meatball or patty preparations found in numerous cuisines.