Topalak Recipe
Topalak is a traditional Turkish dish made in almost all cities of Anatolia, albeit with small differences. Some make it with meat, some make it with chicken. Some people use ground meat in the koftes, some don't. But in essence, we can summarize it as a stew or soup with bulgur koftes.
Topalak can be called by different names in some cities. For example, in Adıyaman, the meat version is called basalla.
Although they are not the same thing, fellah köfte and pea stew with bulgur koftes are also related to topalak.
I prepared bulgur köftes with ground meat and the dish itself without meat. Although I normally prefer tomato paste in stews and soups, things change in recipes with bulgur and I prefer pepper paste. The same thing happened with Topalak. I used pepper paste instead of tomato paste and added a tomato for both consistency and flavor. The broth was delicious enough to be consumed alone as soup.
In addition to bulgur koftes, boiled chickpeas are also used in the recipe. The 2 cups of boiled chickpeas written in the recipe is a measure given for the chickpeas measured after they are boiled. In fact, this is the case with all my recipes. You can keep it in mind for other recipes as well.
After the topalak is cooked, it is flavored with lots of dried mint. Mint adds flavor to the taste of topalak. If you like it spicy, its flavor is completed when you add some chili peppers.
Enjoy your meal...
Topalak Recipe with Video
Ingredients
- 2 cups boiled chickpeas,
- 1 onion,
- 1 tablespoon of pepper paste,
- 1 tomato,
- 1.5 liters of water at room temperature,
- 1 tablespoon of butter,
- 1 teaspoon of dried mint,
- Salt to taste,
- Chili peppers.
For the köftes;
- 250 g ground meat,
- 1 cup of fine bulgur,
- 1 teaspoon of pepper paste,
- Salt to taste,
- 1 tablespoon of flour.
Preparation
- For the koftes, take the ground meat, bulgur, pepper paste and salt into a bowl and knead.
- Make hazelnut-sized balls from the mixture and place them on a floured tray.
- Grate the onion and stir fry with butter in a large pot,
- Add tomato paste and fry for a few minutes,
- Add the grated tomato and sautee,
- Add water and boil,
- Add the meatballs coated in flour to boiling water, mix and simmer until the bulgur is cooked,
- Add chickpeas and mix,
- Add salt, mint and chili pepper, mix and remove from heat.
Enjoy your meal...