Kufta Bozbash

Soups | Azerbaijani cuisine

⏳ Time

2 hours

🥕 Ingredients

🍽️ Servings

Description

Kufta Bozbash is a Caucasian pea soup with chickpeas and giant lamb meatballs.

Ingredients

Veal Brisket - 7.1 oz
Fat Tail Fat - 4.6 oz
Lamb - 17.6 oz
Potato - 3 pieces
Chickpea - 7.1 oz
Rice - 1.1 oz
Plums - 4 pieces
Shallot - 6.3 oz
Saffron - a pinch
Malt Vinegar - 1 fl oz
Turmeric - 1 tablespoon
Salt - to taste
Dried Rosemary - to taste
Ground Black Pepper - to taste
Sumac - to taste

Step by Step guide

Step 1

Place the brisket and onion in a pot with one and a half liters of water and bring to a strong boil. Skim off the foam, add the chickpeas (which should be soaked overnight in unsalted water), and simmer with the lid on for about an hour, periodically removing the foam. At the end, season with salt, remove the onion, and strain the broth through a sieve. While the broth is cooking, soak the saffron in boiling water, keeping it near the warm stove.

Step 2

Wash the lamb and tail fat, pat them dry with a towel, and grind them together with the onion using a meat grinder. Generously season with salt and add a little pepper, then incorporate the rinsed and soaked rice, along with a pinch of turmeric. Mix thoroughly, slamming the filling against the table to release any trapped air bubbles, and refrigerate for half an hour to an hour.

Step 3

Wet your hands well with warm water and shape the chilled minced meat into balls, each weighing about 200 grams. Cut the plum or cherry plum into small pieces. Make a small indentation in each meatball with your finger and place a piece of plum inside.

Step 4

Dissolve half a tablespoon of turmeric in the broth to avoid lumps, then pour it into the pot. Next, gently add the meatballs to the broth, being careful not to deform them. For the first five minutes, do not stir with a spoon at all; just gently shake the pot back and forth. Skim off any foam and simmer for ten to fifteen minutes with the lid on over low heat. Then, add the potatoes to the broth.

Step 5

Pour a few spoonfuls of brewed saffron into the broth, and place a few of its petals on the meatballs for decoration. You can drizzle some saffron over the meatballs with a spoon for a uniform yellowish color. However, the broth should not be too white or too yellow. Remove the pot from the heat.

Step 6

Marinate the onion in wine vinegar for about ten minutes. Traditionally, seasonal Gowsan onions are used for kyufte-bozbash, but shallots are also suitable. They are similar in size, elongated shape, and slight bitterness. The bitter onion, along with the sour plum or cherry inside the kyufte, helps to neutralize the dish's fattiness both in flavor and on a chemical level.

Step 7

Before serving, strain the broth to remove any excess rice, onion, and chickpea skins. In a deep dish, layer the brisket, meatballs, chickpeas, and potatoes. Pour the broth halfway over them. Optionally, sprinkle with dried mint and barberries to taste. Pickled onions and flatbread are served separately with the pea soup.