Red Lentil Koftekoftesi Recipes

RED LENTIL CURRY

Steps:

• Wash the lentils in cold water until the water runs clear. Put lentils in a pot with enough water to cover; bring to a boil, place a cover on the pot, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, adding water during cooking as needed to keep covered, until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain.
• Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir onions in hot oil until caramelized, about 20 minutes.
• Mix curry paste, curry powder, turmeric, cumin, chili powder, salt, sugar, garlic, and ginger together in a large bowl; stir into the onions. Increase heat to high and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Stir in the tomato puree, remove from heat and stir into the lentils.

RED LENTIL AND BULGUR KUFTEH

Steps:

• Combine the lentils and water in a large saucepan, bring to a boil, skim off any foam, reduce the heat, add salt to taste and simmer 30 minutes, or until the lentils are soft and most but not all of the water is absorbed.
• Place the bulgur in a bowl, mix with 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pour in the lentils with their liquid. Stir together, then cover and let sit for 30 minutes, until the bulgur is tender and has absorbed all the liquid.
• Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium-low heat and add the onion. Cook gently for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden and very tender. Stir often. Add the ground cumin and stir together for about 30 seconds, then stir into the lentils and bulgur.
• Moisten your hands with water and knead the mixture in the bowl for 3 to 5 minutes. Each time it begins to stick to your hands, moisten them again, and this will moisten the mixture. If it seems very dry and crumbly, add a tablespoon of water. Stir in the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, 1/4 cup of the minced parsley, and for a spicier mixture add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper. Taste and adjust salt.
• Moisten your hands and shape the mixture into walnut-size balls (about 1 inch). You'll have to moisten your hands again whenever the mixture begins to stick to them. Place on a platter and sprinkle with the remaining parsley. Garnish with scallions, romaine lettuce leaves and lemon wedges, and serve, or chill for several hours. Serve cold or at room temperature.

MERCIMEK KöFTESI TURKISH RED LENTIL KOFTE (VEGAN)

Steps:

• Boil the lentils in the water, uncovered, until they soak up most of the water, about 25-30 minutes.
• Add the bulgar and salt. Mix once and loosely cover to let the bulgar expand, then remove from the heat and let rest on a potholder about 10 minutes to let it cool off.
• Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and add the chopped onion and cook until soft, about 10-15 minutes.
• Add the tomato paste and cook another 1-2 minutes.
• Add the cumin and remove pan from heat. Stir once the heat is off.
• Add the onion-tomato paste-cumin mixture to the pot with lentils and bulgar, which should be cool by now. Add a few shakes of cayenne pepper to heat it up if you like.
• Add half of your parsley (about 1-1.5 tablespoons worth), the green onions, and lemon juice to the pot, and mix well.
• Take pieces of the kofte out of the pot and form them into kofte shape. The same size and shape as a Twinkie works, though traditional kofte is about half the size of a Twinkie.
• You can then arrange the lettuce leaves on a big plate and serve that way, but the real deal way to eat them is wrapping each kofte up in a lettuce leaf.