What is Kafta?

Question

I saw it in a question and I don't know what it is.

Could you please include a recipe if you have one?

Answer 1

Kofta
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Kofta, köfte, kafta, kufta or kafteh are a family of Middle Eastern and South Asian meatballs or dumplings.

In their simplest form, they consist of balls of minced or ground meat — usually beef or lamb — mixed with spices and/or onions. The meat is often mixed with other ingredients such as rice, burghul, vegetables, or eggs to form a smooth paste. Koftas are sometimes made with fish or vegetables rather than meat, especially in India. They can be grilled, fried, steamed, poached, baked or marinated, and may be served with a rich spicy sauce. Variations occur in North Africa, the Mediterranean, Central Europe, Asia and India.

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Kafta - a lebonease sausage

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Kafta sausage:
This mixture is great on skewers over charcoal, as patties, or as the Lebanese dish Kofta bi sanniyeh, baked in the oven with potatoes and tomatoes.

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Kafta bi'l-Karaz
(Syria)
Grilled Ground Lamb and Cherries on Skewers

A famous preparation from Aleppo is called kabab bi'l-karaz, kebabs with cherries. A special kind of cherry found around Aleppo is used, the St. Lucie's cherry (Prunus mahaleb L.), which is a small, bitter, crimson-colored black cherry. You can use either canned sour cherries or any fresh pitted cherries. This recipe is a version in which the lamb meat is ground first as a kafta.





1 pound ground lamb

2 teaspoons baharat

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground coriander seeds
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Ten 8- to 10-inch wooden skewers

50 pitted fresh black or Bing cherries or canned sour cherries




1. In a medium-sized bowl, knead together the lamb, baharat, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, salt, and pepper, using wet hands to keep the meat from sticking. Transfer to a food processor and process until the meat is smooth and pasty. Form into balls the size of a large olive and skewer them interspersed with cherries, using 5 balls of meat and about 4 or 5 cherries per skewer. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

2. Meanwhile, prepare a hot charcoal fire or preheat a gas grill for 15 minutes on high. Place the skewers on the grill and cook, turning occasionally, until the meat is browned and springy to the touch, about 10 minutes.


Makes 4 servings

Answer 2

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It seems like everyone before me has their own method, so I will just pitch my two pennies into the ring as well. My father is from the Middle East, as are all of his best friends. All of them married American women, so my Mom and all my "aunts" learned from their husbands how to cook kafta. According to my Mom, the best taste comes from a mixture of beef and lamb, and you shouldn't use extra lean ground beef, because it makes the meat too dry once it is cooked--having a little fat in there will add to the flavor. Some people do fry it, but that is more common in Turkey, or when done in a time crunch--the best way to cook it is on a grill. You make a big ball with the meat, then roll it out a bit, so you end up with a type of cylinder which is tapered at the ends and fatter in the middle. It usually ends up being 1-2 inches wide and about 6 inches long. You feed a skewer through that lengthwise before grilling. Pinch it around the skewer once you have it on, to kind of seal the meat against the skewer, or it could fall off while grilling. You can reheat it any way you like, either in the oven or the microwave. Either way, seal the container so that the meat doesn't dry out (either make a aluminum foil pouch for the oven, or put it in a container with a lid for the microwave). Mom pointed out that whatever type of meat you use, it's easiest to have them grind it for you so it isn't as finely ground as regular hamburger--she said that falls apart too easily when put on the skewers. She also said to be sure and tell you to spray your grilling surface, as it will stick, and can be a little hard to remove. Other than that, she said the spicing is pretty much the same all over the place. Just so you know, none of my "uncles" are Lebanese--between my father and all of his close friends, there are one Syrian, one Lybian, one Saudi, and two Egyptians. Good luck--I think it is very cool that you are preparing a special dish for your friend. A lot of people wouldn't be quite so thoughful.

Answer 3

What Is Kafta

Answer 4

There are many variations but essentially it is a meatball
found throughout the Middle East, India & Persia.

In India, it can be vegetarian (made of cauliflower, spinach or any other veggie). It can be eaten alone with a sauce/chutney or served in a curry.

MALAI KOFTA:

INGREDIENTS:

For the koftas:
2 cups peeled and diced boiled potatoes
1 cup mixed vegetables (carrots, beans, peas, sweet corn) boiled
1 cup paneer cubes
2 tbsps of double cream
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 cup chopped nuts (almonds, walnuts and cashewnuts)
1/4 raisins chopped fine
Salt to taste
Vegetable/ canola/ sunflower cooking oil to fry the koftas

For the sauce:
3 tbsps vegetable/ canola/ sunflower cooking oil
2 large onions quartered
2 tomatoes quartered
2 tbsps garlic paste
1 tbsp ginger paste
2 tsps coriander powder
1 tbsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp poppy seeds lightly roasted and ground into a powder
3 tbsps nuts (cashews and almonds) ground into a thick paste
Salt to taste
2 tsps garam masala

PREPARATION:

Mash the potatoes, mixed vegetables, paneer and cream together. Add the kofta spices to this mash and mix well. The resulting dough should be firm. If not add some more boiled potato. Season with salt. Make this dough into balls and put 1/2 a tsp of the nut and raisin mix in the center of each ball. Roll into perfect rounds.

Heat the oil kept aside to fry the koftas, on a medium flame. Deep fry these rounds till pale golden in colour.
Drain on paper towels and keep aside.

For the gravy, first heat the 3 tbsps of oil in a deep pan and fry the onions till light brown. Grind into a paste along with the tomatoes, onions, ginger, garlic, coriander, cumin and red chilli powders. Put this paste back into the pan and fry till the oil begins to separate from the masala.
Add the poppy seeds powder and nut paste and fry for another 2-3 minutes. Add 1 cup of warm water (the sauce for this dish is meant to be thick so do not add too much water) to this masala to form a sauce/gravy. Mix well. Season with salt. Bring the sauce/gravy to a boil and then reduce the fire to a simmer. Gently add the kofas to this sauce/gravy and cook uncovered for 2-3 minutes.
Turn off the fire and sprinkle the garam masala all over the top of the dish. Cover immediately and allow to sit for 5 minutes.

Serve with hot Naans (tandoor-baked leavened Indian flatbread) or Jeera Rice.

Answer 5

Kafta...it's ground beed mixed with spices (white pepper, paprika, black pepper, salt) and chopped fresh parsley and chopped onion...you mix them real well (in a mixer if u like) until they are like a big pate thing...then you grab some meat in your palm and make it shaped like a finger...u can fry it in oil or barbecue it on coal or put it in the stove.
It's yummy and good with tabbouleh (Lebanese salad) and Hummus (lebanese chick pea dip)

Answer 6

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Answer 7

kofta is a dish where you ground some kind of thing like meat or vegetables and then mix them with potatoes etc and make lil' balls out of them.you can either fry them or make curry out of it.

Answer 8

Kofta are "balls"....they can be meatballs, vegetable balls, dessert balls.....I would say that perhaps lamb would be a typical kofta (or kefta, depending on what part of the world you live in)....

There are Arab and Indian recipes of all of the above.

Answer 9

Lebanese beef mix thingie.

Answer 10

hi.. kafta is an Arabic way to cook spacial kind of meat. with potato and tomato with onions ..what do think yam me?