A traditional Islim kofte recipe is made with eggplant or aubergine but I have made this version with zucchini. Islim kofte is baked in the oven but the word Islim actually means “to steam”.
Although this kofte recipe looks a little fancy its actually very quick and easy to make.
Recipe for Islim Kofte
How to make Islim Kofte
| Ingredients for Islim Kofte | |
|---|---|
| 500 gr of beef mince | 1 onion, finely grated |
| 2 garlic cloves, crushed | 1/4 tsp of ground black pepper |
| 1/4 tsp of salt | 1 tsp of cumin |
| 4 long zucchini, cut into thin strips lengthways | 4 tomatoes, cut in half |
| 4 chilli’s cut in half lengthways and de-seeded. | Olive Oil |
- Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
- In a large bowl, place the mince, onion, garlic, cumin and salt and pepper.
- Mix it well until all the seasoning has combined well.
- Place in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a frying pan on a medium heat, fry the zucchini until soft and golden brown.
- Take the mince out of the fridge and evenly create 8 meatballs. Flatten them so they are more like discs rather than meatballs.
- On a place, place 2 pieces of zucchini making a cross formation.
- In the cross, place a kofte and wrap the overhanging zucchini around the kofte.
- Place half a tomato on the fold and place half a chilli on the tomato and hold it together with a toothpick
- Repeat the process until you have 8 koftes, wrapped in zucchini with a tomato and chilli on top.
- Place in the oven for 20-25 minutes and serve immediately.
Makes 8 koftes.
Serve with rice pilaf or bulgur pilaf.
Find more kofte recipes or shish kebab recipes at Turkish Thyme Cooking.
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Islim Kofte Recipe, loading...
PS I didn’t have tomato so used red pepper which I softened with the zucchini.
Hi Graham
Your split pea puree with mint sounds like a lovely side to go with the kofte. To get maximum flavour from the red pepper, try charring it over a naked flame and then skinning it. It will give a real smoked flavour which should be delish.
Cheers Reyhan
Hi Reyhan,
I made this dish; it was very easy and a great result. I made a split-pea puree with lots of mint added to go with it and the whole thing was excellent. It is certainly something you could prepare for entertaining.
Here in South Africa the prime cuts of lamb are good quality but very expensive so it is great to have a few lamb dishes up your sleeve that you can make using mince.
Thanks again – Graham.