Jan 15

Kofteh Berenji (2) (Rice Meatballs)

By Persian Recipes Koofteh, Light Persian Meals No Comments »

I recently visited my parents and made a second type of Kofteh Berenji with their help. The first one I had made was a bit different and included lapeh (split yellow peas). The balls I made in my other Kofteh Berenji recipe were larger, and the ones in this one were much smaller and stuck together far better.

Koofteh Berenji

Koofteh Berenji

If you want something light and tasty I definitely recommend this!

Ingredients (good for 4-6 people):
1 lb ground meat
1 onion –grated and mixed with the meat
4 tablespoons chopped onion
1 cup rice –rinse well
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 egg (optional)
salt/pepper
turmeric
saffron
garlic powder (optional) –small amount
lemon juice
3 cups water
oil
1 lb sabzi (greens) cleaned and chopped (2 lbs if not cleaned and chopped) : Parsley, Cilantro, Green Onions, Tarragon (Tarkhoon), Savory Leaves (Marzeh), Tareh (Chopped chives) or you can use the ends of Green Onions instead of Tareh. If you are using dry ingredients in combination with the fresh ones, you will need to adjust the measurements based on fresh or dry ingredients. Typically when using dried greens (sabzi) you will use less (approximately 1/2 cup of the ingredient) than if you were using fresh. Just to give you an idea I will provide you with the exact amounts of each ingredient I used because we had a combination of fresh and dry greens at my parents house:
1 bunch fresh parsley
1 bunch fresh cilantro
1 bunch fresh green onions (or you can use 2 bunches; especially if you dont use chives (tareh))
1/2 cup dry Tarragon
1/2 cup dry Savory Leaves
1/2 cup dry Tareh

Directions:
As mentioned in the ingredients you will grate an onion and mix it in with the meat. Set it aside to mix in with other ingredients at a later stage.

Once all the greens are cleaned, chopped, and mixed together (mix together dry and fresh greens) then you will add your rice (after you have washed it) to the greens. Mix the greens and rice with the meat (make sure you have mixed your meat with the grated onion first). Add salt, pepper, turmeric, and a small amount of garlic powder to the mixture.

If you find that the mixture wont stick together you can add an egg.

In a pot pour in some oil and heat it. Saute the 4 tablespoons of chopped onions in the oil once it is heated. Let the onions become golden then add the tomato paste and continuously stir for a few minutes (no more than 5 minutes). Add 3 cups of hot water to the pot. Begin forming small round balls with the mixture and place them into the pot. Once all the Kofteh Berenji’s are formed and placed in the pot add more water (if needed) to cover them all.

Add some lemon juice, salt, pepper, and saffron to the water and then cover and allow the Kofteh’s to cook for approximately 45 minutes on medium heat.

Many times this is more of a light side dish and may not be the only thing you are eating.

Serve hot or warm … and most importantly enjoy!

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Dec 04

Dolmeh Felfel (Stuffed Bell Peppers)

By Persian Recipes Dolmeh No Comments »

There are many different vegetables you can use to create Dolmeh’s. One of my favorites is Dolmeh Felfel (stuffed bell peppers)! I used green, red, and yellow bell peppers to mix up the flavors a bit and bring some color to my plate :)

Ingredients (for 6-8 Felfel Dolmehee (Bell Peppers)):
approx. 1 lb (500 grams) ground beef

Dolmeh Felfel

Dolmeh Felfel

approx. 350-500 grams Sabzi for Dolmeh — Mint, Parsley, Tareh (if available otherwise use more green onions), Green onions, and Tarragon —- amount of sabzi used not to exceed amount of meat, but can be less if you desire
1 cup rice
1 small onion
salt/pepper
turmeric
1 tablespoon tomato paste
Lemon juice –desired amount
1 tablespoon sugar (if desired)

Directions:
Heat up some oil in a frying pan or small pot. Chop up the onions and add to the pan. Add the ground beef to the pan as well, then add turmeric, salt, pepper, and stir the contents until the water from the meat is mostly evaporated/withdrawn. Mix the tomato paste with 1 cup water and add to the meat. Let the meat cook on medium-low heat until most of the water is fully evaporated. Note: you can choose to keep some of the meat stock to use when cooking the Dolmeh’s.

dolmeh-step1

You want to clean and wash all the sabzi and then finely chop them up. I used a food processor to chop up my sabzi, it makes the job a lot easier. In a frying pan add about 2 tablespoons oil and fry the sabzi (greens) within the pan for a few minutes.

Remove the meat from the burner and add the sabzi (after you have fried it) to the meat and mix the contents together.

dolmeh-step2dolmeh-step4

dolmeh-step3
In a small pot heat up some water and pour in the rice and add some salt. Allow the rice to boil and then use a strainer to empty the contents and drain the water. Add the rice to the meat and sabzi mixture and mix well. At this point you can add the lemon juice and if you choose the sugar as well. If you feel the mixture doesn’t have enough tomato paste you can add a bit more (it depends on how much tomato paste you desire). Also, if the mixture needs more salt and/or pepper now would be the time to add it. Set the mixture aside.

Felfel Dolmeyi Stuffed

Felfel Dolmeyi Stuffed

Stuffed dolmeh Cooking

Stuffed dolmeh Cooking

To prepare the bell peppers you will need to cut out the top in a circular shape. After cutting out the top empty out the contents inside and remove all the seeds (as best as you can) from the inside and then rinse the bell peppers. In a pot (that can fit all the bell peppers) place all the bell peppers inside and add some water and salt. Allow them to cook for awhile until they are soft. Once they are ready and a bit tender you can take them out.

Stuff each of the bell peppers with the mixture and then place the bell pepper top (the one you cut out earlier) on top. Place all the bell peppers into a pot (or the same one after you empty out the water it had in it) and pour in some water, meat stock, or a combination of the two (especially if you didnt save a lot of meat stock). Allow the Dolmeh’s to cook for 20-30 minutes on medium heat.

Enjoy :D

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Nov 10

Koofteh Berenji (Rice Meatball)

By Persian Recipes Koofteh No Comments »

I finally got around to making Koofteh Berenji, which is a very tasty Persian recipe that mixes ground beef, aromatic green vegetables, and rice!

Koofteh Berenji

Koofteh Berenji

One thing to note is that some of the aromatic green vegetables (Sabzi moatar) are not easily found (i.e., Reyhan and Tareh). I used a bit of Cilantro in place of Reyhan since I didn’t have dry or fresh Reyhan. And as I have mentioned in other recipes, in place of Tareh you can use the ends of green onions. But if you happen to have these ingredients definitely use them :)

Ingredients (makes 6 large Koofteh Berenji’s):
1 lb ground beef –lean ground beef (kam charbi) is better
1 lb aromatic green vegetables : mint, Reyhan (if you have it), Tarragon (Tarkhan), Green onions (the ends in place of Tareh; unless you have Tareh), and Parsley. I used Cilantro in place of Reyhan.
2 onions — 1 to be grated and added to the ground beef, the other to be chopped up for Piaz dagh (fried onion)
1 cup rice
1 cup split yellow peas
3 eggs
turmeric
salt/pepper
lemon juice
1 tablespoon tomato Paste
1/2 teaspoon (or less) baking powder or baking soda
zereshk (barberries)
crushed walnuts

Mixing the ingredients for Koofteh Berenji

Mixing the ingredients for Koofteh Berenji

Forming the Koofteh Berenji

Forming the Koofteh Berenji

Directions:
Boil some water in a small pot and add the rice. Once the rice boils use a strainer to drain the water. In a small pot boil water and add the split yellow peas and allow them to boil and then use a strainer to drain the water.

Chop up all the Sabzi (green vegetables), you can use a food processor to chop them up as well. In a large bowl, mix in the grated onion, turmeric, salt, and pepper with the ground beef. Add the rice, split yellow peas, and the green vegetables to the ground beef and mix all the ingredients. Add the baking powder (or baking soda) and the three eggs and mix the ingredients. If you desire you can add a bit more salt and pepper.

In a pot go ahead and saute the chopped onion. Once the onion has turned a golden color take out half the onions. Add 2 cups of water into the pot and set the stove top heat to medium. Mix some zereshk (barberries) and walnuts with the fried onions you took out of the pot. Once the water boils begin forming large round balls and insert bits of the zereshk, walnuts, and fried onions mix into the center.

Insert zereshk, walnuts, and fried onion into center

Insert zereshk, walnuts, and fried onion into center

Cooking the Koofteh Berenjis in water

Cooking the Koofteh Berenjis in water

Note: you can poke a hole to the center of the ball and add the mixture of zereshk, walnut, and fried onion then cover over the hole.

After all the Koofteh Berenji’s are formed and in the pot add the tomato paste and some lemon juice. Make sure the Koofteh Berenji’s are covered with water, if needed add more water to make sure they are all covered. Place the lid on the pot and allow it to cook for 45 minutes.

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