Kufta-bozbash in Azerbaijani style. Recipe with photos step by step

Publication in the group: Oriental cuisine

In Azerbaijani style, kufta-bozbash can be prepared at home. Meatball in pea broth (this is how the name of the dish is literally translated) is characteristic of the cultures of almost all Caucasian peoples. Armenians, for example, have 6 varieties of bozbash and they depend on the territory of residence and the season of the year, while Azerbaijanis, in addition to kufta-bozbash, also have brocade-bozbash, where instead of minced meatballs they use large pieces of lamb. Kufta-bozbash has Iranian roots.

Classic recipe

Kufta-bozbash in Azerbaijani classic form is found only in the Caucasus, as it contains chestnuts. The dish is served at a traditional oriental lunch, which lasts more than 2 hours.

Before serving the hearty dish, guests are offered fresh, unchopped greens and smoked sturgeon balyk, followed, according to tradition, by fried peaches, plums or cherry plums.

What ingredients will you need?

The classic recipe for the Azerbaijani treat includes 6 components:

cherry plum;
chickpeas;
chestnuts;
onion;
mutton;
bones.

The broth is prepared in clean water using salt and available spices.

Step-by-step cooking process

You can prepare kofta-bozbash in Azerbaijani style by following step-by-step recommendations:

At the first stage, chickpeas (chickpeas) are soaked in water overnight.
In the morning, after the peas have swollen, they are boiled in bone broth until tender.
Next, peel and wash the onion.
At the next stage, wash the meat under running water and cut the meat into small pieces.
After this, the onion is passed through a meat grinder along with the lamb. The mixture is salted and peppered.
Meatballs are made from the resulting minced meat, placing pre-washed and pitted cherry plums inside.
At the next stage, pre-peeled chestnuts and finely chopped onions are added to the broth with the peas.
A few minutes after adding the chestnuts and onions to the broth, the meatballs are added to the liquid.
At the last stage, bozbash is salted and peppered.

The dish is served hot. As a decoration, you can sprinkle the broth with fresh dill.

What can I add?

There are several ingredients that Azerbaijani chefs like to add to the classic kofta-bozbash. For example, to give a dish a pleasant color and aroma, saffron tincture is poured into the broth 15 minutes before the end of cooking, and mint is responsible for the refreshing taste in the summer heat. Some cooks also add rice to the minced lamb, in addition to onions. Those who do not like the taste of chestnuts replace them with potatoes. In order for the bozbash to be rich, fat tail fat is added to it, after crushing it. Some ingredients can be changed. However, this will not affect the taste of the dish.

Classic	Replacement
mutton	beef
chestnuts	potato
cherry plum	plum/peach
chickpeas	classic peas
rice	buckwheat

Different nations have their own recipes for meat broth and meatballs. Those who want to discover something new are encouraged to experiment with ingredients.

Serving rules, decoration

Kufta-bozbash is served hot or cold, depending on the time of year. If it contains fat tail fat, the broth should be warm so that the ingredient does not harden.

Kufta-bozbash in Azerbaijani can be served hot or cold.

The first course of meat broth with meatballs is considered the main lunch treat. As a decoration, the soup is sprinkled with fresh herbs or finely chopped green onions.

Recipe for ishli kufta with author's photos

Filling ingredients

300 g veal or beef.
200 g walnuts.
2 medium onions.
Sunflower oil.
Ground black pepper.
Paprika (optional).
Salt

How to cook

Pour boiling water over the bulgur in a deep bowl so that the water just covers the grain. Leave the cereal to swell, closing the container with a lid. Cut the meat into small pieces, rinse, and leave to drain in a colander. Fry the walnuts in a dry frying pan until the kernels are golden brown. Cool, get rid of excess husks (they will appear after frying), crush with a blender or using a rolling pin. Be sure to grind the meat in a meat grinder 2-3 times. Separate 500 g of minced meat for the base and 300 g for the filling. Peel the onion and cut into small cubes. Heat a frying pan, pour 40-50 ml of water into it, put 300 g of minced meat with chopped onions into it. Cook with constant stirring. As soon as the water boils, add sunflower oil, fry, constantly breaking up lumps, until cooked, turn off the heat. Salt, pepper, add roasted crushed nuts. When the filling has cooled well, cover with a lid and place in the refrigerator. Grind the swollen bulgur in a blender or meat grinder. Combine 500 g of ground meat with bulgur, add paprika (optional), salt and pepper. The mass should be sticky and homogeneous. If you feel the need, add a little water to it. Place a container on the table to wet your hands. With your left hand, take approximately 1 tablespoon of the bulgur mixture, knead it, roll it into a ball, and with the fingers of your right hand make a small hole in it.

Work carefully. The shell for the ishli kyufta should be dense.

There should be no holes in it. The thickness of the workpiece is medium. Place the minced meat in the “bag” and wrap it in the casing, tightly connecting the edges. Here in the photo is a ready-made ishli kufta - a meat “pie” with a plump center and thin elongated edges. The structure somewhat resembles a lemon. The joined edges of the shell must not form a seam. Place the formed ishli kuftas to “rest” in the refrigerator for about 20-30 minutes. It is desirable that all the “cutlets” turn out to be the same small size. Meanwhile, boil 1.5 liters of water, salt it so that you have a little too much salt. Now we lower the cooled semi-finished products into boiling water. The fire should first be reduced to minimum. You need to cook the kofta in small portions - 4-5 pieces each, 3-4 minutes after the water boils. During this time, the outer raw part will “set”, and the inner part is already ready. The number of koftas to cook at the same time depends on the size of your pan. “Catch” the finished kuftas with a slotted spoon and place them on a dish or large plate. Boiled isli kufta is fried on all sides in a frying pan with heated sunflower oil until an appetizing crust. Or you can deep-fry (one piece at a time) in a small saucepan. I did it this way - it’s faster and more convenient. Moreover, at this time it is necessary to ensure that household members, “flocking” to the wonderful aroma, do not attempt to eat the kofta ahead of time. The food is ready, it's time to serve it on the table. Ishli kufta must be served with thin circles of lemon (or lime) and garnished with fresh herb leaves. A little sour sauce is a very good dressing for this dish. Just before “eating”, you can pour fresh lemon juice over the kofta. Now you can invite family members or guests who are exhausted by waiting to the table - an excellent meal is ready to be enjoyed. The finished ishli kufta looks great when cut, and it tastes simply amazing. Tender, juicy filling, delicious crust on the outside - it’s impossible to resist!

Recipe Author's Notes

Ishli kufta goes well with almost any side dish. But we tasted it separately to enjoy this delicious taste.
As always, I must say that the food is prepared faster than I describe the process. Prepare, take the time, please your loved ones and yourself! Bon appetit!

My dear readers, our program is exhausted for today! Vera and I will be very happy if you like today’s recipe and “take root” in your menu just like Vera’s recipe for satsivi, pasuts tolma, zhengyalov hats flatbreads, no-bake marshmallow cake, kurnik pancakes and sour milk pancakes.

With love Vera.

The musical number that will sound now will not leave anyone indifferent. A gentle, crystal voice evokes quiet sadness... Paciencia - Lilit Bleyan

With rice

Kufta-bozbash in Azerbaijani style may contain rice. White bulk ingredient is used when there is not enough minced meat for meatballs and you need to create volume.

What ingredients will you need?

For 8 servings of Azerbaijani dish you will need:

lamb (0.4 kg);
cooking fat (1 tbsp);
rice (1/2 cup);
dried cherry plum (6 pcs.);
onion (1 pc.);
potatoes (4 pcs.);
chickpeas (150 g).

Spices:

cilantro (1 tbsp);
turmeric (0.5 tsp);
mint (1 tsp);
dill (1 tbsp);
black pepper;
salt.

The calorie content of the dish with the listed ingredients is 144 kcal per 100 g.

Step-by-step cooking process

To prepare an Azerbaijani dish, you need:

The first step is to soak the peas in cold water overnight.
Next, in the morning, the chickpeas are washed under running water and placed in a separate container.
At the next stage, cook the rice and soak the cherry plum in cold water.
After the rice has reached the desired state, peel the onion and wash it under running water.
Next, wash and chop the meat into small pieces.
At the next stage, the meat, onions and rice are passed through a meat grinder, making minced meat. After this, it is salted and peppered to taste.
Next, meatballs are made from the minced meat, placing a piece of cherry plum in the middle of each.
Broth is made from cooking oil and water and filtered.
At the next stage, put chickpeas in a pan with broth and cook them.
Next, peel, wash and add potatoes and onions to boil in the broth with the chickpeas. It is not necessary to chop vegetables finely.
At the last stage, meatballs are placed in the bozbash. The liquid is salted, peppered and the rest of the spices are added to it.

Preparing the treat takes almost 2 hours.

Ishli-kufta

Another type of kufta is called ishli-kufta and is meat cutlets with meat filling in the shape of lemons.

For the top layer, bulgur grains are used - finely ground wheat, previously subjected to heat treatment. Chopped walnuts are added to the filling.

Minced meat for shell

Beef – 500 g
Bulgur – 1 cup
Egg – 1 pc.
Salt, ground red pepper-paprika - to taste

Grind the lean beef in a processor until it becomes a plastic, homogeneous mass.

Add bulgur grains, previously soaked in warm water and soaked for 30 minutes, salt, ground sweet red pepper (paprika), and beat in the egg. Thoroughly knead the mixture until it becomes viscous and plastic.

Minced meat for filling

Fatty beef or lamb – 600 g.
Onions - 2 pcs.
Crushed walnuts – 1/2 cup
Butter - 50 g.
Salt, ground black pepper; lemon - to taste

We pass fatty beef through a meat grinder.

Sauté the chopped onion in butter and add the meat.

Fry the minced meat well, you can add a little water for juiciness. At the end, add salt, pepper, and crushed walnuts. The filling should be fatty and juicy.

Preparation

We form a ball from the minced meat for the shell, make a depression in it and use a finger in a circular motion to thin the walls so that they become evenly thin.

Place two teaspoons of cooled meat filling into the resulting “cup”. Again, using circular movements of your fingers, close the shape and pull out the tail.

We form the same tail at the other end. Place the resulting cutlets in the freezer for half an hour.

Then boil in boiling water for 10 minutes. When serving, sprinkle with lemon juice and garnish with herbs.

Energy value of Ishli-kufta

Since this dish contains cereals and nuts, Ishli-kufta is rich in proteins and complex carbohydrates, which makes this product nutritious and healthy.

This dish is ideal for serving at the holiday table. To serve on a festive table, Ishli-kufta can be fried in vegetable oil, served with lemon juice and sprinkled with herbs.

Today I shared only a few recipes for this oriental dish, which are also prepared in my family. In fact, there are a lot of recipes for preparing Kufta, and all the methods are not very complicated, but all the recipes are equally interesting.

Try it, cook with pleasure.

From veal

Kufta-bozbash in Azerbaijani style is also prepared from beef or veal. The cooking process is the same as using lamb.

What ingredients will you need?

To prepare an Azerbaijani dish you take:

veal (0.7 kg);
rice (2 tbsp);
potatoes (7 pcs.);
onions (3 pcs.);
peas (0.5 tbsp.);
sour plums (4 pcs.).

Spices:

mint (4 g);
saffron;
pepper mixture;
salt.

For the broth you need 3 liters of water.

Step-by-step cooking process

To prepare a Caucasian treat you need:

At the first stage, soak the peas for 3-4 hours.
Next, let the rice cook.
At the next stage, peel the potatoes and onions and wash them under running water. Plums are also washed and pitted.
After this, wash and cut the veal into small pieces.
Next, 2 onions, meat and rice are passed through a meat grinder, making minced meat.
At the next stage, the meatballs are formed, placing a piece of plum in the middle of each.
After this, put the water in the pan on the fire and pour the peas into it.
Next, 1 onion and potatoes are cut into several large pieces and also placed in a pan.
At the next stage, meatballs are placed in the broth, and the liquid is salted and peppered. A few minutes before the end of cooking, add the remaining spices to the bozbash.

The broth is served with fresh herbs.

Step-by-step cooking recipe

1. Pour cold water over the meat and put the pan on the fire. In a word, you need to cook the broth.

2. Take one carrot and onion. Cut the vegetables into two parts and simmer in a dry and heated frying pan. Simmer until golden brown crust forms. This needs to be done on both sides. What is this procedure for? You will add the browned vegetables to the broth. It will be transparent, beautiful in color and fragrant. By the way, take this technique into account. Place such vegetables in broth for jellied meat, or in any other broth. Try it, you will immediately feel the difference.

3. Place the fried vegetables into the broth after skimming off the foam after boiling.4. Add peppercorns to the pan and cook the broth until the meat is cooked. Then remove the meat and set aside. Strain the broth if necessary. You won't need veal anymore; you can use it to prepare something for the main course. We had naval pasta, for example.5. Boil the rice until half cooked.6. Place the minced meat in a convenient container.

7. Add rice.

8. Place one chopped onion here.

9. Add a mixture of peppers and salt. Mix. You can add a little chopped dill to the minced meat, then the meatballs will turn out much tastier.

10. Form large meatballs from the minced meat, called kufta. What size? Yes, whatever you want. In the original, large products are made. After all, the second part of the name of the soup is the word bozbash. What does "gray head" mean? Set the baked meatballs aside for a while.

11. Cut the second carrot into strips, the last onion into small pieces.

12. Fry them in vegetable oil.

13. Cut the peeled potatoes into large pieces and throw them into the broth.

14. Mash the pea soup briquette.15. After the potatoes have boiled for min. 10, place the mashed briquette into the pan.16. When the potatoes and peas are almost cooked, add the roast and saffron to the soup and stir well.17. Cut the tomatoes into small circles and place in a saucepan. Let it boil.

18. Next add the meatballs.19. After boiling, add a pinch of dry mint and stir.20. After the meatballs float, throw in the chopped dill and stir.

21. Let simmer for another minute. 5 – 7, remove the pan from the heat.

Serve kufta - bozbash with chopped cilantro or parsley. It will be very tasty, you'll see! Enjoy your meal! And if you are interested in a classic recipe, then I suggest watching a visual video lesson from the master.

With tomatoes

Some oriental cooks put tomatoes in kofta-bozbash. The taste is interesting and refreshing.

What ingredients will you need?

To prepare pea broth with meat balls you need:

lamb (0.6 kg);
rice (1/2 cup);
peas (1/2 cup);
potatoes (3 pcs.);
onion (1 pc.);
tomato (1 pc.);
prunes.

Spices:

turmeric (1/2 tsp);
mint;
pepper mixture;
salt.

The cooking process takes no more than 90 minutes.

Step-by-step cooking process

To prepare an Azerbaijani treat, you need:

At the first stage, put the peas to cook.
Next, the meat is washed under running water and cut into medium-sized pieces.
After this, peel the onions and potatoes and wash them under running water.
At the next stage, minced meat is prepared from onions, meat and rice, passing the ingredients through a meat grinder.
Next, balls are made from the minced meat, placing a piece of pitted prune inside.
After this, pour water into the pan and put it on the fire. After a few minutes, meatballs are added to the liquid. When they float to the surface, reduce the heat under the pan and cook for another 40 minutes.
At the next stage, potatoes and onions cut in half are added to the meatballs. After a few minutes, add the tomato.
At the last stage, peas and spices are added to the pan with the ingredients.

Before serving, bozbash is sprinkled with dried mint.

In the cauldron

Residents of mountainous regions are accustomed to preparing Caucasian soup with meat in a cauldron in nature. Experts note that in such conditions the dish turns out to be especially satisfying and aromatic.

What ingredients will you need?

To prepare the Azerbaijani first course you need:

lamb (1 kg);
chickpeas (1/2 cup);
onions (3 pcs.);
potatoes (5 pcs.);
sweet pepper (1 pc.);
hot pepper (2 pcs.);
cherry tomatoes (10 pcs.);
canned green peas (0.2 kg);
vegetable oil.

Spices:

Imeretian saffron (1/2 tsp);
salt;
pepper mixture;
dried greens.

For the broth you will also need 4 liters of water.

Step-by-step cooking process

To prepare Azerbaijani soup yourself, you need:

The first step is to soak the peas in warm water overnight.
Next, peel the potatoes and onions and wash them under running water. The tails of the sweet pepper are cut off and cored.
Hot peppers and tomatoes are also washed under running cold water.
After this, the meat is washed and cut into small pieces.
At the next stage, put the cauldron on the fire and pour sunflower oil into it.
After a few minutes, put pieces of meat on the bottom of the cauldron and fry until golden brown, 4-6 minutes.
Next, cut the onion into half rings and place it in a cauldron with the meat.
When the onion begins to turn yellow, pour cold water into the container and leave until it boils.
As soon as the bozbash boils, add the remaining ingredients and spices to it. If the potatoes are not large, then they are placed whole. Bell peppers can be chopped into strips.
10 minutes before the end of cooking, add whole tomatoes to the broth (the readiness of bozbash is determined by the potatoes, which become soft but do not fall apart).

The finished dish is poured into plates and sprinkled with herbs.

Kufta-bozbash

Kufta-bozbash is an incredibly tasty thick soup with large stuffed beef or lamb meatballs. It is based on minced meat, minced or chopped, various herbs and chickpeas.

Product composition:

Potatoes – 2 tubers;
Onions for minced meat and for frying - one piece each;
Minced lamb - half a kilo;
Turmeric – one small spoon;
Chickpeas - half a glass;
Dried basil – 2 large spoons;
Salt, dried mint, dried dill - to taste;
Cherry plum (prunes, dried apricots) – 4 pieces;
Rice – 50 g;
Chili pepper (ground) - a quarter of a small spoon.

Cooking diagram:

First of all, soak the chickpeas in water for at least 3 hours;
Next, place the peas in a saucepan with water, add salt to taste and cook for about half an hour;
Place the prepared minced meat in a bowl (mix beef and lamb fat). Add chili pepper (hot), finely chopped onion, salt, dried basil and rice. But you can skip the rice and add boiled and chopped chickpeas instead;
Let's form large meatballs from the minced meat, which should be the size of a fist. Place dried fruits in the center of each piece: prunes, cherry plum (best), dried apricots;
Add potatoes, cut into large quarters, and meat preparations into the prepared chickpea broth;
Kufta soup is made with frying. Fry finely chopped onion in vegetable oil and add turmeric. But saffron goes best with this dish;
We will add the roast to the soup, but we will not mix it so that the integrity of the meat component is not compromised. Cook the soup over low heat for about 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are ready;
When the Azerbaijani-style kufta is ready, add dried basil, mint and dill.

The recipe for kufta is different in each region and each family can prepare this dish in its own way.

In a slow cooker

Azerbaijani-style kufta-bozbash is also prepared in a slow cooker. The process will take much less time than when cooking in the usual way.

What ingredients will you need?

To prepare an oriental dish in a slow cooker you need:

fatty lamb (0.6 kg);
chickpeas (1/2 tbsp.);
rice (0.05 kg);
potatoes (3 pcs.);
onions (2 pcs.);
dried cherry plum.

Spices:

cinnamon;
mint;
saffron;
pepper mixture;
salt.

The ingredients are for 4 servings.

Step-by-step cooking process

To prepare soup in Azerbaijani style you need:

At the first stage, pour cold water over the peas and leave for 12 hours.
After this, the chickpeas are washed, placed in a multicooker bowl, filled with 1 liter of cold water, and cooked until tender for 40 minutes at a temperature of 160C˚. As soon as the chickpeas are ready, drain the water.
Next, pour cold water over the rice and leave it to swell for 60 minutes.
At the next stage, peel the potatoes and onions and wash them under cold water.
After this, the meat is washed and cut into small pieces.
Lamb and onions are passed through a meat grinder, turning them into minced meat.
Next, rice, salt, mint, cinnamon and pepper are added to the minced meat. The ingredients are mixed.
Medium-sized balls are made from minced meat, placing cherry plum inside.
At the next stage, pour water into the multicooker and boil it, setting the temperature to 130 C˚ for 20 minutes.
After this, meatballs and potatoes cut into 4 pieces are placed in boiling water. The water is salted and set for 20 minutes without changing the temperature.
While the kufta and potatoes are boiling, pour in the saffron with hot water and leave it for 15 minutes.
At the final stage, add the remaining ingredients to the meatballs and potatoes and cook for another 10 minutes.

Before serving, the dish is decorated with parsley leaves.

How to cook “Kufta Soup”

We need to soak the chickpeas for 12 hours.

Wash the swollen chickpeas and place them in a pan with bone broth. Bring to a boil.

Cut the ripe tomatoes into small pieces and add them to the pan with the chickpeas. You can first remove the skin from them. Cook everything together for about an hour.

Cook the rice until half cooked and cool.

Pour a small pinch of saffron with a small amount of boiling water and let it steep.

Peel and chop the onion very finely.

For soup, it is best to use small potatoes. But you can also take large ones and then chop them coarsely.

Grind the meat into minced meat, add rice, half of the chopped onion, a pinch of pepper and 2/3 teaspoon of salt. Stir until smooth.

We divide the resulting mass into fairly large parts, the size of a large egg. You can put dried cherry plum inside each future meatball.

If the chickpeas are already cooked, add potatoes to the pan.

We put our meatballs, the remaining onions and ground pepper there. Cook for 15 minutes after boiling.

Add saffron and salt to taste. Bring to a boil and turn off the heat.

Before serving, sprinkle the soup with finely chopped herbs.

Useful tips and tricks

To make kufta-bozbash, you need to choose the right ingredients:

Meat for meatballs should be fresh and not stringy.
Vegetables are selected without visible black spots or dark spots.
It is recommended to use only chickpeas and not other types of peas.
As a spice, they must use either classic or Imeretian saffron (marigold flowers), as they give the dish a pleasant yellow color and a unique taste.

Caucasian soup is good because it does not require fine chopping of most ingredients. Since potatoes, tomatoes, onions and peppers are cooked whole or cut into 2 parts, they are easy to remove. Pre-cooking the bone broth for the Azerbaijani dish is not necessary, but is recommended by many experts. They note that this way the bozbash turns out to be more satisfying and rich.

You can prepare kofta-bozbash in Azerbaijani style by following both the classic and alternative recipes. The dish has a number of beneficial properties and is recommended for consumption by men and women of all ages. The advantage of the soup is that you can regulate its fat content by choosing the right ingredients.