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Turkish meatballs, meat-filled dumplings

İçli köfte, Turkish stuffed meatballs

Main dishes

These Turkish meatballs, made with bulgur flour, contain a filling of meat, onion, and walnuts: a hearty recipe that can be poached or fried, depending on…

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Recipe from Nosferatü, Alperen, Joseph and 2 other contributors, adapted by Recette de cuisine · · updated on

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İçli köfte is a classic Turkish dish: a bulgur-based dough encases a mixture of ground beef, onion, and walnuts. The meatballs can be baked or fried.

Ingredients and directions

  • Prep time1 hr
  • Cook time30 min
  • Resting40 min
  • Total2 hr 10 min
  • DifficultyHard
  • CostBudget
  • Cooking methodfrying or sautéing
  • Estimated cost$10.81 $1.80 / serving Estimated price; varies by store. Converted from euros at the ECB rate of October 15, 2026.

Ingredients

6 people

Farce

  • $4.71
  • $1.24
  • $0.16
  • $0.77
  • $0.02
  • $0.27
  • $0.06

Dough

  • $2.61
  • $0.04
  • $0.20
  • $0.21
  • $0.04
  • $0.27
  • $0.21

Prices from US supermarkets for 10 of 14 ingredients; Belgian prices for the rest.

Directions

  1. Brown the meat until fully cooked. Add the finely chopped onions and continue to cook.
  2. Add the spices and walnuts, cook for a little longer, then remove from the heat and let it rest.
  3. For the dough, combine all the ingredients, grate the onion over them, and knead thoroughly with your hands until a smooth dough forms. ≈ 10 min
  4. Gradually add the flour, and moisten occasionally to prevent the bulgur from drying out. ≈ 3 min
  5. Take small balls of dough, about the size of an egg (approximately 40g), and hollow them out with your thumb, then shape them into an egg-like form. ≈ 10 min
  6. Place 1 teaspoon of cooled filling and 1 teaspoon of walnuts in each indentation, close the pastry, and roll it up.
  7. Poach in boiling water or fry in sunflower oil, then serve.

The bill

İçli köfte, Turkish stuffed meatballs

  • 500 g of lean ground beef, very finely minced$4.71
  • 6 medium-sized onions$1.24
  • 1 tablespoon of tomato paste$0.16
  • 50 g of shelled pistachios or walnuts$0.77
  • ½ teaspoon of salt$0.02
  • 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper$0.27
  • ½ teaspoon of mild chili powder$0.06
  • 250 g of fine bulgur$2.61
  • 20 grams of cooked potato$0.04
  • ½ raw egg$0.20
  • 1 onion$0.21
  • 1 teaspoon of salt$0.04
  • 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper$0.27
  • flour, about 1 cup (200 ml)$0.21

Total$10.81

that's $1.80 per person

Estimated price; varies by store.

Equipment

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Before you start

Ingredients

  • 500 g of lean ground beef, very finely minced
  • 6 medium-sized onions
  • 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
  • 50 g of shelled pistachios or walnuts
  • ½ teaspoon of salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon of mild chili powder
  • Hot pepper flakes, to your liking
  • 250 g of fine bulgur
  • 20 grams of cooked potato
  • ½ raw egg
  • 1 onion
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
  • flour, about 1 cup (200 ml)

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