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Every Iranian household has a kotlet recipe, and every one of them is the best. These are fried patties of minced meat, grated potato and onion, coated in breadcrumbs and fried until crisp.
They are lunchbox and picnic food, eaten hot or cold in bread with pickles and tomato.
At a glance: makes about 15 patties. About an hour. Easy.
Ingredients
- 500g minced beef or lamb
- 2 medium potatoes, boiled, peeled and grated
- 1 onion, grated and squeezed dry
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 cup fine breadcrumbs
- Vegetable oil, for frying
Method
- Mix the mince, potato, onion, eggs and spices and knead until smooth.
- With wet hands, shape into oval patties about 1cm thick.
- Coat each patty in breadcrumbs.
- Shallow fry in hot oil for four minutes a side until deep golden. Drain on kitchen paper.
Squeeze the onion. Too much moisture makes the patties fall apart.
Crispier crust. Chill the coated patties for 20 minutes before frying.
Where to buy the ingredients. Outside Iran, you can order turmeric online.
Serve with bread, gherkins, tomato and a squeeze of lemon. Kotlet keep for two days in the fridge and are just as good cold.
