I feel like I say this about a lot of the recipes I post but I'm going to say it anyway.... This is one of my favorite recipes. I've had this dish so much growing up because my mom used to make it all the time. This is her recipe with a twist of me. It's funny, even though I know her recipe is amazing, I cannot follow a recipe 100%, so I played with it a little and added a couple of things. I usually make this kofta when I don't really have time. It is one of those recipes, that when I make it for my family on a regular basis, I make without actually knowing or actually calculating the measurments. It is so quick and easy to make. It's the perfect recipe to make when you are tired, have no time, or when you have guests coming over last minute. Kofta is ground meat, mixed with onion and fresh parsley, and seasoned with a few spices. There are many versions of kofta. This one is one of the simplest. The most important part to a successful kofta is a good meat mixture. Traditionally kofta is made with lamb meat, because it's juicier. But we don't really eat lamb meat in our house, because I don't like it. I've never had a problem with dry beef because I use a pretty fatty ground beef - 20-22% fat. It comes out perfect.
Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef
1 bunch parsley
1 yellow onion
1 jalapeno
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon Bharat or all spice
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon powder
4 roma tomatoes, sliced
4 potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 jalapeno (optional)
1 tablespoon beef bouillon
3 cups water
Butter or Margarine
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Place ground beef in a bowl.
In a food processor, puree the onion, parsley, and 1 jalapeño together. (If you do not like spicy food, you can omit the jalapeño. Or, feel free to add more if you like.)
Add this mix to the ground beef along with the salt, black pepper, Bharat, and cinnamon powder. Mix everything together.
Butter the bottom of a pyrex or baking dish. Place meat mix into the dish and flatten to cover entire bottom. (I like using my hand for this step. Just press the meat down into a flat layer.)
If you like spicy, this step is for you, otherwise, skip this step. Quarter the jalapeño lengthwise and place in four different areas in the dish on top of meat layer.
Layer the sliced tomatoes over the meat mix. (Depending on the size of your dish, you might need more or less. Make sure to completely cover meat so theres a bite of tomato in every bite.)
Layer the sliced potatoes over the tomato layer. (Same as tomatoes, depending on dish size, you may need more or less.)
Sprinkle the potatoes with the beef bouillon and add water enough to cover the potatoes.
Cover dish with foil and place in oven for an hour.
Remove cover and broil on high for 5 minutes or until potatoes are golden.
Serve with Middle Eastern Rice Pilaf.
