“Can we come for dinner?” That’s the second question you’ll hear if you mention you’re making Sini Kofte to someone in Turkey, Israel, or Syria. The first question will be “oh, so you’re Armenian?”
Lucine loves making Sini Kofte, and her recipe is not complex, it just takes time. We joined her for an afternoon in the kitchen, while she showed us this recipe, and told us about some of the nuances of Armenian cuisines from different regions.
Watch our video below.
Lucine’s Sini Kofte Tips
Lucine’s Sini Kofte happens in two stages, which she has going simultaneously. It’s a culinary balancing act which she makes look easy.
Stage one is the beef. She browns it at high heat and then adds her spice blend. Her special additions to this dish are cinnamon, cloves, and freshly shredded nutmeg. The nutmeg seed gets away from her a few times in the process, but she soldiers on.
She likes to taste the beef once the spices are incorporated to see if it needs more salt or peppers. Satisfied, she adds the onions, which will help to bring out the spice even more. She leaves the pot to simmer and goes about making the dough for the Kofte.
It’s important to use fine bulgur for the dough, and Lucine uses red pepper paste for some extra spice.
The most important ingredient to get right for the dough is the meat. You need to get extra lean, and extra finely ground meat for this dish. Lucine uses flank steak and recommends you tell the butcher you need the meat for raw kibbeh. It needs to be ground extremely finely.
She adds the meat to the bulgur and spice mix and combines, adding water periodically, until she has a dough that holds together like a hamburger when pressed.
Before Lucine layers her Sini Kofte, she lets the beef filling cool. She doesn’t want the dough to cook at all before it goes in the oven. She says “put it outside, it’s cold outside.”
She layers her dough, then the filling, and then the dough on top. She doesn’t use all the filling. “It’s always too much,” she says, “but you can use this for a lot of things.”
“Sometimes [the dough] gets a little dry,” she says, when she begins the top layer. “You can just add more water.” She does that, and kneads the dough back to life.
Just before putting the uncooked Kofte in the oven, Lucine cuts it into diamonds and brushes the top with some more vegetable oil, to help it come out better later.
She recommends serving the Sini Kofte with lemons. It’s a real crowd pleaser, so make sure you make enough!
Dietary Notes:
Nut free, peanut free, dairy free
Bulgur contains gluten
What you’ll need:
Stuffing
4 large onions, chopped
1 pound (½ kilo) medium ground beef
1 tablespoon (15 mL) salt (and more to taste)
2 teaspoons (10 mL) black pepper (and more to taste)
2 teaspoons (10 mL) allspice
1 tablespoon (15 mL) red pepper
1 tablespoon (15 mL) cinnamon
1 teaspoon (5 mL) cloves
1 teaspoon (5 mL) nutmeg
Dough
3 cups (720 mL) fine bulgur
1 pound (½ kilo) extra lean finely ground flank steak or veal
2 shallots
2 tablespoons (30 mL) pepper paste
2 teaspoons (10 mL) salt
1 tablespoon (15 mL) red pepper
1 teaspoon (5 mL) allspice
Cold water
Vegetable oil
The Steps
Brown the ground beef in a saucepan. Once brown, add the salt, pepper, red pepper, and allspice, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.
Stir until fragrant, and add the onions. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are browned and well incorporated.
Once cooked, take your stuffing off the heat and cool it to room temperature by letting it sit or refrigerating.
Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl combine bulgur, pepper paste, shallots, salt, red pepper, and allspice. Mix to combine. Add a half cup (120 mL) of water, more to help incorporate.
Mix in the flank steak and another half cup (120 mL) water until you have a dough which holds together. Add water as necessary.
Preheat your oven to 375°
In a round, oiled baking tray, use half of your dough to create a smooth ¾ inch (2 cm) base on the bottom of the tray.
Layer your cooled meat stuffing on top of your dough, approximately ¾ inch (2 cm) thick.
Layer the remainder of your dough on top of the meat stuffing, and smooth the top.
Cut your uncooked Sini Kofte into diamonds and brush the surface with vegetable oil.
Bake for 1 hour
Serve with lemon, enjoy!
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