Red Lentil Kafta

Kafta is great. Kafta is the Lebanese way of saying "kofte", which is the Turkish way of saying, "kufta" which is the Hebrew way of saying kofta, which is the East Indian way of saying, "kefta" which is the Moroccan way of saying.... well.... they all sort of mean "meatball", without necessarily having to involve meat or balls.

 In Halifax, Lebanese food is the shiznit and you will find it in pizza shops, cafes, food courts, and full service restaurants. And if you have a good Lebanese friend, like me, you may be fortunate enough to learn the art of kafta-making.This requires a lot of ground beef, parsley, onions, and some special spices. It is rolled into an oblong shape, skewered and grilled. Yummy!

Awww.... and you thought I was going to teach you how to make that. Sorry carnivores!

The vegetarian in me does not approve (at the moment). Fortunately, Middle Eastern cuisine is very suitable for a vegetarian diet, involving such things as lentils and rice, chickpea fritters, parsley & bulgur salad, fava bean dip, eggplant dip, chickpea dip, stuffed grape leaves and spinach pies. For those in the know, I'm talking about mujaddara, falafel, tabouli, foul, baba ghanoush, hummus, dolmades and fatayer.

But not Kafta!

Until one day, I walked into a Turkish restaurant in Halifax called Turkish Delight. At the time I was a pretty hardcore vegetarian, so I was "delighted" when I discovered the existence of red lentil kafta (the Turks call it Mercimek Kofta). This unique vegetarian dish, composed mainly of red lentils and bulgur wheat, and served warm or cold, is eaten frequently in Turkey as finger food. Ah yes... the rest of the world recognizes things like lentils, beans, and cracked wheat as food items to be enjoyed as well as meat. But I digress....

At the end of the day, these cold little tidbits aren't really an alternative to the grilled meatball-like skewers that won my heart albeit not my digestive system. But I think they are a great vegetarian food that deserves more recognition than just the strange looks I got last night in the work cafeteria.

Red Lentil Kafta
(I say Kafta 'cus my influence is Lebanese, even though this is a Turkish dish... but who cares? Kafta means meatball and there isn't any meat! I can call it what I want! This recipe is based on the recipes you can find online. It's really great wrapped up in some lettuce, Belgian Endive or pita bread).

1 cup red lentils
1.5 cups water
1.5 cups bulgur 
1.5 cups finely chopped parsley
4 green onions, minced
1 medium onion, minced, or at least finely chopped
1 heaping tbsp tomato paste
1 heaping tbsp Turkish red pepper paste (for those in Calgary, you can find this at Kalamata Grocery. Harissa would be another substitution, or just use extra tomato paste).
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
salt and pepper, to taste

Cook the lentils in the water, covered, low-ish heat for 15-20 minutes or until they are smushy.
Put the bulgur in a large bowl and add the cooked lentils.
Mix them together and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. 

In a perfect world the moisture from the lentils would cook the bulgur, but this isn't a perfect world. Start boiling some water, 'cus you're gonna need it.

After 15 minutes or so, stir the mixture around like you're angry, 'cus you will be, 'cus the mixture will be too dry. 
Add some bowling water, and mix it up. Cover and wait another 15 minutes or so. Do this until you think you could mold it into shapes without it falling apart everywhere.


But while all this is taking place, you can start frying up your onion (not the green ones), and once it gets soft, add your tomato and red pepper pastes, paprika and cumin. Mix together and set aside.
Once you are happy with the consistency of you lentil mixture, add the saucy cooked onions, as well as the parsley, green onions, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix really well.
Roll the mixture into oblong shapes, and stack on a plate. These can be eaten right away, while they're warm, or you can chill them and eat them cold in a crunchy piece of lettuce. 


They are great for packed lunches! I'm bringing some to work with me tonight : )

Turkish Delight (Halifax)