Kifta – Meatballs in Iraqi Tomato Sauce

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Meatball mix

1. 1
   Mix the ground meat with the onion, parsley, cumin, cinnamon, salt and black pepper until evenly combined.
2. 2
   Shape the mixture into long finger-shaped patties.

To assemble

1. 3
   Heat the oil in a wide pan and brown the meatballs 3–4 minutes per side, just until browned on the outside. Transfer to a plate.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStoveFrying pan

   💡What you brown (meat, patties, schnitzel) goes into hot oil: in lukewarm oil it soaks it up and comes out greasy. For onion and garlic that you soften, oil heated over medium or low heat is enough; do not wait for it to smoke.
2. 4
   Heat The rest of the oil in the wide pan over medium heat.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStoveFrying pan
3. 5
   Add the onion and fry 5–8 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges. If it browns too fast, lower the heat.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
4. 6
   Add the garlic and fry about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.
5. 7
   Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, water, cumin and black pepper with the salt and bring to a boil.

   Stove
6. 8
   Return the meatballs to the sauce. Turn down the heat, cover and simmer 25 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked and the sauce thickens.

   ⚙ SimmeringStoveLid

   💡Drop the meatballs into boiling sauce and don't stir at first: that way they firm up and keep their shape.

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.