Armenian cutlets - Ishli kufta

Ishli kufta (armenian cutlets) is a dish of Armenian cuisine. It is a fragrant beef cutlet stuffed with minced meat and nuts. Bulgur is necessarily added to the minced meat. Such cutlets are deep-fried or boiled in a saucepan.

Ingredients:

Fatty beef – 600 gr.
Bulgur – 180-190 gr.
Onions – 1 large onion
Walnuts – 100 gr.
Vegetable oil – 500 ml.
Narsharab sauce – 1 tbsp the spoon
Ground zira – 1 tsp
Ground coriander – 1 tsp
Cinnamon – a pinch
Cloves – 1 pc.
Salt

Cooking process

1 Bulgur must be filled with warm water in advance and left for 30 minutes.

2 Grind the meat in a meat grinder or using a food processor. It is better to take fatty beef for this dish, then the cutlets will turn out to be more juicy.

200 gr. leave the minced meat for the filling. Add bulgur, half an onion, spices to the rest of the minced meat and grind everything until smooth. You should get a fairly sticky mass.

3 Let’s move on to preparing the filling. Fry finely chopped onions in a pan. Add pre-set minced meat (200 gr.) To the onion. Stir and fry for a few minutes. Next, add chopped nuts and Narsharab sauce. I also add a pinch of ground cumin for the scent. Salt to taste. Stir and bring to readiness.

4 Form balls from minced meat. In each ball we make a depression in which we put the filling. We pinch the edges and give the cutlet the shape of an elongated lemon. It is advisable to make the cutlet walls thin.

5 Pour vegetable oil into a saucepan or cauldron. We heat it well. Fry cutlets over medium heat until golden brown. The approximate cooking time is 7 minutes.

Put the finished cutlets on paper towels to remove excess oil.

If you decide not to fry, but to boil the cutlets, then you need to cook the cutlets for 10-15 minutes. You can also boil for 10 minutes first and then lightly fry.

Armenian cutlets – Ishli kufta served with fresh herbs and vegetables. Can also be served with a lemon wedge. In Armenia, it is customary to pour fresh lemon juice on Ishli kyufta.