When we moved in 2018 from Arizona to Milwaukee Wisconsin I was pregnant with my Noam. It was mid-March and a blizzard greeted us.
Regardless the pregnancy I really missed home and craved for my mom’s Shefte.
What is Shefte you ask? Shefte is a Kurdish dish that made form ground beef, ground chicken and bulgur. It is very similar in it appearance to the Persian Gondi but it’s very different in taste. It SO Good- you gonna love it!
I called my mom and asked for a recipe, she explained and I made it – and it was a great consolation for a pregnant lady who really wanted to go home.
So I’m pregnant again (yay !!) and the stormy weather predictions for last Saturday made me crave for Shefte.
I really hope you would like it as much as I do- because just like the Tabit or the Dolme, this is the taste of home for me.
Ingredients
For the Shefte:
1 lbs of ground beef (not more then 10% fat)
1 lbs of ground chicken breast
2 ½ cups of fine bulgur
1 teaspoon of ground black pepper
2 teaspoons of salt
1 large yellow onion
For the Shifte’s Soup
A cup of cooked chickpeas (you can also use canned)
1 yellow onion
2 tablespoons of oil for frying
1½ teaspoon of turmeric
Preparation
You can prepare it with or without a food processor. I will explain how to prepare it both ways. The texture will be little different – but not significant and both are equally delicious.
Without a food processor
1. Mix the ground beef with the ground chicken breast in a large bowl
2. Rinse the bulgur and strain and add to the bowl
3. Grate a large yellow onion to the bowl on a fine grater
4. Add the salt (2 teaspoons) and the black pepper (1 teaspoon) and mix well
5. Put the mixture in the refrigerator to rest for about half an hour so it will settles
With a food processor
1. Cut the onion to large coarse and arrange it in the bottom of the food processor bowl
2. Add on top of it the bulgur, the salt (2 teaspoons) and the pepper (1 teaspoon)
3. On top of it add the ground beef and the ground chicken breast and grind until smooth
4. Put the mixture in the refrigerator to rest for about half an hour so that the mixture will settles
Preparation of the soup
1. Cut the onion into cubes
2. In a pan, heat the oil – and fry the onion until it change little bit his color. It doesn’t need to be brown
3. Fill half of the pot with water, add the turmeric (1½ teaspoons) and salt to taste and cook over high heat until boiling
4. After boiling, lower the heat, add the chickpeas (if you are using canned chickpeas, strain the canning liquid and rinse it well) and cook for another 10 minutes
5. Remove the mixture from the refrigerator, and form the meatballs in the desired size. You can create them small or large – it will not really affect the taste.
6. The soup should be over medium-high heat when inserting the Sheftes into it.
7. Cover the pot with a lid and cook until boiling. When the pot is boiling, simmer, and cook for about an hour
8. Remove the lid and cook for another 15 minutes
Notes
– The amount that comes out is large and you definitely can freeze some of it
– You can add more than a cup of chickpeas. If you don’t like chickpeas you don’t have to add it at all – it will not change the taste of the soup or the Shefte
-If you a spicy food lover, you can add more black pepper
It’s just seems complicated, but it is not.Just follow the instructions I hope you will LOVE it as I do!
For any question I am available right here, in the comments.
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