Köfte with chili and bell pepper sauce

Spicy Turkish meatballs with fiery chili and bell pepper sauce

This recipe for meatballs comes from the Turkish cuisine, but is now spread throughout the Orient, Northern Africa, Southern Europe and India. Through the abundance of spices, the dish becomes a spicy and aromatic event.

Ingredients for 4 persons

Köfte (spicy meatballs)

600 g minced meat (beef, lamb)
3 small onions
1 bunch smooth parsley
(White) bread (2-3 slices) (or 4 tbsp bread crumbs)
1 egg
3 tblsp olive oil
1 clove of garlic
2-3 tsp cumin
Chili flakes (to taste)
¼ tsp ground cinnamon, cardamom and allspice, respectively
1-2 tsp salt, black pepper, ground

Bell pepper and chilli sauce

1 kg red bell peppers
5 tblsp white wine
1 tbsp of sugar
1 red chilli (or more)
2 star anise
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt, pepper

1 cup of natural yoghurt

Preparation:

Bell pepper and chili sauce:
Wash, clean and chop bell peppers in coarse pieces. Remove chili peel and seeds and chop roughly. Combine both with 100 ml of water, the vinegar, sugar, star anise and a pinch of salt in a pot and then simmer for about 40 minutes on a low flame.
Then remove the star anise from the sauce and finely mince the sauce with the bar mixer. Stir in the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Köfte:
Peel onions and garlic and chop finely. Chop parsley.
Combine everything together with mince, the crushed white bread and the egg. Add an extra virgin olive oil and season with salt, pepper, chili peppers and ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, cardamom and allspice. Mix all ingredients to a smooth meat dough.
From the meat dough, form small, elongated meatballs with well moistened hands. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and fry the meatballs until they are golden brown or grill them in the preheated oven on the top grate.

Put the warm chili and bell pepper sauce in a bowl and place the minced meatballs, garnish with some chopped parsley. Add the yoghurt in a bowl. Serve with pita bread or rice.

Photo credits: Fotolia - # 59959162 - © Printemps