Sulu Kofte - Turkish Meatball and Potato Stew

for the meatballs-
1 pound ground beef
3/4 cup fine bulgur
1 sm-med onion finely grated
1 tbsp flour
red pepper flakes approx 1 tsp
black pepper approx 1 tsp
salt to taste

approx 1 tbsp oil-to coat the meatballs

for the stew-
4-5 potatoes peeled and cubed
1 tbsp tomato paste
3 tbsp of butter
4-5 cups of water

Grated the onion, then mix all the ingredients for the meatballs together in a bowl and knead with hands for 5 minutes until everything is mixed together.

To test and see if the meatballs will stay together when cooking, make one meatball about the diameter of a penny or a nickel by taking a dab of oil on your hands and rolling the meat in the palm of your hands until if forms a sphere.

Put this one meatball in a small cup of water (make sure the water covers the meatball) and let it sit for 5 minutes. If it falls apart, you must add more bulgur, if it stays together, you are ready to make your meatballs.

Using the oil in your hands, roll all the meatballs out onto a tray, this process is somewhat grueling.

After the meatballs are finished, take a large pot and cook the tomato paste in the butter until the butter is melted, then add about 3 cups of water to dissolve the tomato paste.

When the water boils, add in all the meatballs, cover and cook for about 35-40 minutes.

While the meatballs are cooking, peel and cube the potatoes, and about 15 minutes before the meatballs are finished, throw in the potatoes, and add more water if needed. (the meatballs should be covered in water for the whole time the meal cooks).

Once the stew is finished, it can be served with rice and yogurt on the side. This recipe yields about 8 1-1 1/2 cup servings.

Number of Servings: 8

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user KETLINU.