Turkish · appetizer

İçli Köfte (Stuffed Bulgur Shells)

Name: İçli Köfte (Stuffed Bulgur Shells)
Prep time: 1 h 21 min
Total time: 2 h 21 min
Cuisine: Turkish
Ingredients: bulgur — 300 g; semolina — 60 g; water — 250 g; salt — 5 g; turkish red pepper paste — 15 g; lamb shoulder roast — 400 g; onions — 240 g; walnut halves — 100 g; sunflower oil — 41 g; ground allspice — 10 g; maraş pepper flakes — 5 g; salt — 5 g; flat-leaf parsley — 20 g; sunflower oil — 1380 g

İçli Köfte (Stuffed Bulgur Shells) reads richness 7.4, umami 6.1 and nutty 4.9 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Turkish appetizer, about 2 hr 21 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 6.6 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 2.5 / 10
Sour & Bright — 0.6 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 3.4 / 10
Rich & Fat — 8.8 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 3.7 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Richness 7.4 · Umami 6.1 · Nutty 4.9 · Salinity 4.5 · Allium 3.2 · Earthy 3.1 · Sweetness 2.3 · Herbaceous 2.2 · Bitterness 1.9 · Warm Spice 1.7 · Heat 1.3 · Funk & Ferment 1.3 · Floral 0.9 · Fruity 0.6 · Sourness 0.6

What's in it (14)

bulgur — 300 g
semolina — 60 g
water — 250 g
salt — 5 g
turkish red pepper paste — 15 g
lamb shoulder roast — 400 g
onions — 240 g
walnut halves — 100 g
sunflower oil — 41 g
ground allspice — 10 g
maraş pepper flakes — 5 g
salt — 5 g
flat-leaf parsley — 20 g
sunflower oil — 1380 g

Time & effort: about 2 hr 21 min (1 hr 21 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 197.2 kcal, 9.3 g protein, 9.6 g fat, 19 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (7 steps)

Put the bulgur and semolina in a wide bowl, pour over the hot water, cover and leave 30 minutes until the grain has drunk everything and swollen.
Add the shell salt and the pepper paste and knead hard for a full 15 minutes, wetting your hands in cold water whenever the dough drags. It goes from crumbs to a smooth, elastic, faintly sticky paste — this long knead is the whole skill, and there is no shortcut.
For the filling, heat the sunflower oil in a pan over medium heat, add the onions and cook 8 minutes until soft and just golden. Add the minced lamb, raise the heat and fry 8 to 10 minutes, breaking it up, until all the water has gone and the meat is dry and brown.
Stir in the walnuts, allspice, Maraş flakes and filling salt and cook 2 minutes more, then take off the heat and fold in the parsley. Spread on a plate and cool completely — a warm filling will burst the shells.
Wet your hands. Take a walnut-sized piece of shell paste, roll it into a ball, then work your index finger into it and rotate, thinning the walls to about 3 mm and drawing the shell into a pointed lemon shape 7 to 8 cm long.
Spoon in a tablespoon of cold filling, pinch the opening closed, and roll the köfte between your palms to seal and re-point both ends. Repeat; you should get about 20.
Heat the frying oil to 170°C. Fry the köfte in batches of five for 5 to 6 minutes, turning, until deep mahogany and firm. Drain on a rack, not paper, and serve warm with lemon.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Gratin Dauphinois — French
Sambousek (Fried Pastry Pockets) — Lebanese
Kibbeh — Lebanese
Cumin Lamb Stir-Fry with Scallions — Chinese · Xinjiang
One-Pan Chicken Alfredo Skillet — Italian-American

Keep reading: what richness, umami, nutty mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.