Kofte

Kofte is a family of spiced meatball and meatloaf dishes made from ground meat, usually lamb, beef or a mixture, sometimes combined with rice, bulgur or vegetables, and shaped into balls, patties or cylinders that are grilled, fried or simmered. Its name comes from the Persian koofta and the related Hindi-Urdu kofta, both meaning pounded meat, and the earliest known kofte recipes appear in medieval Arab cookbooks and Byzantine records calling for ground lamb formed into balls. From those roots the dish spread widely across the Middle East, the Balkans, the Caucasus and South and Central Asia, and it is eaten today under local names and recipes in countries including Turkey, Iran, Armenia, Greece, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, India and Pakistan. In Turkish cuisine, where it is spelled kofte, it is one of the most widely eaten everyday dishes, grilled or pan-fried and served with rice, bread or salad, one regional variety among a family of related meatball dishes whose deep history is shared across the wider region rather than belonging to any single country alone.