Içli Köfte – Turkish Stuffed Meatball

Içli Köfte, similar to Middle Eastern kibbeh, are Turkish finger food at its best! Crispy on the outside, with a spiced minced meat filling on the inside. Sometimes walnuts or pinenuts are added to the filling for a touch of sweetness and crunch. Hugely popular in Turkey, but a little tricky to make. The trick is to make a dough for the shell, which must retain the grittiness of the fine bulgur, but must not break when shaping and frying. So don’t try to add lots of flour to the crust, or your köfte crust would taste like dough. The outer shell contains also some minced meat which makes it richer and more delicious. İçli Köfte freeze beautifully and you can make them ahead too. Keep the uncooked köfte in the freezer for up to 3 months, take them out, and fry whenever you need, without needing to defrost them. The best way to enjoy these delicious treats is to deep fry them, but you can make them by lightly oiling them and baking in the oven at 200C/400F for about 30 minutes until they turn crispy and golden brown, flipping them halfway through.

Filling	Outer Shell
1 Large onion, peeled and finely chopped 2-3 Garlic cloves, peeled and minced 3 tbsp Olive oil 500 g Ground beef or lamb 1 tbsp Tomato paste 1 tbsp Biber salcasi (Turkish hot pepper paste) 1 tsp Pul biber (Turkish chilli pepper flakes) 1½ tsp Cumin powder Sea salt, to taste 2 tbsp Chopped flat parsley	360 g Fine bulgur ©angiesrecipes 2 tbsp Semolina 600 ml Hot boiling water 1-2 tbsp Plain flour 250 g Ground beef or lamb 1 tbsp Tomato paste 1 tbsp Biber salcasi (Turkish hot pepper paste) 1 Large egg (or 2 small eggs) Sea salt and freshly milled black pepper 1 kg Tallow for frying

For the filling, peel the onion and garlic, then finely chop them. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add in onion, garlic and ground meat. Sauté the onion and ground meat until the liquid has evaporated and the meat crumbled, 3-5 minutes. Add tomato paste, biber salcasi, pul biber, cumin, salt and pepper. Stir everything together. Remove from the heat and fold in the chopped parsley. The mixture should be well-spiced and not too moist, so that the içli köfte won’t become soggy from the filling.
For the shell, place fine bulgur and semonlina in a large bowl. Pour the hot boiling water over. Mix everything together and leave to soak briefly until all the water is absorbed. Transfer the bulgur mixture in a large tray and add the remaining ingredients for the crust. Knead until everything is well combined, about 5 minutes. When the dough doesn’t stick to your hands, then it is ready for shaping.
Cover the dough with cling film so that it does not dry out too quickly while shaping. Fill a small bowl with some cold water. Use this to moisten your hands repeatedly as you shape the köfte so that the dough does not stick.
Pinch a piece of dough that is about the size of golf ball and form into a ball, then moisten your index finger and drill a hole in the centre and then stretched further so that a rim about 0.5 cm thick remains or as thin as possible.
Fill the hole with 1-2 teaspoons of prepared filling and press the ends together so that the içli köfte are tightly sealed. Reshape the köfte and set aside on a plate and cover with a plastic film.
Heat the tallow in a large pan to 180C/350F. Carefully add 5-6 köfte to the hot fat in batches and fry for 3-4 minutes, turning frequently, until golden brown. Drain the köfte on kitchen paper and serve with a mint yoghurt sauce, if desired.

5 comments:

ellie 30/12/25 13:04: These look delicious!
DEZMOND 30/12/25 13:11: Kofte are ever so popular in Turkie. Lovely colour combo!
Judee 30/12/25 13:41: Ah! Turkish food is so delicious. My mother-in-law used to make these !
Anonymous 30/12/25 13:56: Yummy-Christine cmlk79.blogspot.com
Tom 30/12/25 14:17: ...Angie, this looks yummy!