These delightful golf ball-sized meatballs, filled with lamb, onions, peppers and spices are lovely to serve – and eat, of course. It does take a bit of practice and acquired skill to successfully make a thin keyma shell than seals well and does not break in cooking…and, in this case, the thinner the shell, the more "successful" the chef!
Ingredients:
- For the Keyma (or shell):
- 1 Pound of Lean Ground Lamb
- 1 Cup of very finely ground Bulgur
- 1 Small Onion, minced very small
- 1 Tablespoon of finely minced parsley
- Salt and Pepper to taste
For Filling:
- 1 Pound Ground Lamb
- 10 large onions, diced
- 1 medium Green Pepper, diced
- ¼ Cup finely diced parsley
- 1 teaspoon of dried mint, crushed fine
- 1 teaspoon of sweet basil
- 1/2 teaspoon EACH of cinnamon, allspice
- PINCH EACH of clove and nutmeg (optional)
- 3 Tablespoons Chaimen
- ¼ cup finely chopped walnuts, pine nuts, or hazelnuts
Method:
For the Keyma:
- Mix the raw ingredients well and knead into a pliable dough, adding tiny bits of water, as need be, if the mixture is too dry to be pasty. Knead about 20 minutes until the dough is very maleable.
- Dip hand in cold water, break off walnut-sized pieces of the dough and roll into balls.
- Cover with a damp cloth and set aside.
For Filling:
- Fry the meat on a medium heat, adding in the onions and green pepper.
- As it cooks down, add the parsley, mint nuts and chaimen.
- Thoroughly cook down and then drain to remove excess fat.
(Filling may be prepared a day ahead and kept in a covered container in the refrigerator).
To Assemble:
- Take each ball of Keyma (in turn) and make a small dent in the center with your thumb.
- Placing each ball in your palm, work the dent into a cavity to accept the meat filling – the smoother and thinner your keyma is, the better the resulting product. (Alternatively, you can also flatten the ball of keyma between your palms, until it ressembles a tortilla shell. Then, place the meat in the middle and fold and smooth well into a ball, with the filling enclosed within. This is not the traditional method, but it IS easier and it does work!)
- Put about a spoonful of meat filling into each keyma and seal over, smoothing the opening with wet fingers.
- Bring the meat stock to a low boil in the stove and gently drop in the kuftas, a few at a time.
- Cook each one for about 8 – 10 minutes. (Kuftas should come up to the surface of the pot, when they are done).
- Carefully remove each kufta with a slotted spoon or small strainer, so as not to damage the kuftas.
To Serve:
Place the cooked kuftas in a shallow, greased baking pan and bake for about 10 – 15 minutes (just to crisp up the keyma crust). Then serve with a sauce made by combining plain yogurt with more crushed, dried mint to taste.
Place a few kuftas in a bowl of yogurt soup, as an elegant alternative to the usual solid kuftas.
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