Persian Meatballs with Fava Beans (Koofteh Baghali)
Koofteh Baghali, or Persian meatballs with fava beans are a hearty meal and one of my family's favorites. This recipe is packed with flavor and nutrients, and is sure to please everyone at the table.
Ingredients
Cooking Sauce
- 2 tablespoon oil
- 3 onions medium size, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon dried dill
- ½ tablespoon turmeric
- 4 cups broth
- 6 golden prunes or dried plums or more for stuffing meatballs
- ¼ teaspoon saffron ground, dissolved in 2 tablespoon warm water
- salt season to taste
- pepper season to taste
Meatballs (Koofteh)
- 4 oz uncooked rice will double in weight after cooking
- 8 oz lean ground beef lamb, turkey, or meat substitute
- 8 oz fresh or frozen fava beans double peeled and roughly chopped
- 4 oz fresh dill chopped
- 1 tablespoon dried dill
- 1 tablespoon chickpea flour
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoon fried onion (taken from cooking sauce)
- 1 teaspoon salt or season to preference
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper or season to preference
Instructions
Make the cooking sauce
- In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Then add the onions and cook until fragrant and golden brown. Take 2 tablespoons of the fried onions and set aside to use in the meatballs later.
- Add the tomato paste, dried dill, turmeric, and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
- Add the broth, prunes, saffron water, salt and pepper to the pot. Reduce heat to low and simmer covered for at least 15 minutes, or until the meatballs are prepared.
Make the meatballs
- Rinse and drain the rice, then parboil in salted water until the rice is just al dente. Drain and set aside. Alternatively, you can leave the rice in salted water overnight which will soften the rice similar to parboiling it.
- In a large bowl, combine the rice, ground beef, fava beans, fresh dill, dried dill, chickpea flour, egg, fried onion, salt, and pepper. Mix well with hands for at least for 5 minutes until it becomes sticky, then shape into medium sized meatballs.
- This part is optional, but you can add a prune, raisins, or pitted date to the middle of the meatball before closing them up.
Add the meatballs to the sauce
- Gently place the meatballs into the lightly simmering cooking sauce. The meatballs should be ½ to ¾ submerged in the sauce.
- Simmer covered for 45 minutes. Serve and enjoy.