Tabriz meatballs (; ), also known as Koofteh Tabrizi, are a variety of meatballs from the city of Tabriz traditional to Iranian and Azerbaijani cuisines. The dish normally consists of a large meatball including rice, yellow split peas, herbs and other ingredients, and its juice which is served in a separate dish with shredded sangak or lavash bread before the main course.
Preparation The ingredients are ground beef, rice, yellow split peas, leeks, mint, parsley, onion and spices, wrapped around a core of boiled egg, walnut, fried onion and dried apricot. The kufteh are braised along with fried onions, tomato paste and barberries.
Some versions are wrapped around a small stuffed bird before stewing.
Etymology Kufteh Tabrizi means 'meatball of Tabriz'. The word is derived from kūfteh: in Persian, kuftan (کوفتن) means 'to beat' or 'to grind'.Alan S. Kaye, "Persian loanwords in English", English Today 20:20-24 (2004), .
See also Iranian cuisine Azerbaijani cuisine Sulu köfte Ciorbă de perişoare Smyrna meatballs Nargesi kofta Yuvarlak Harput meatballs List of soups List of meatball dishes
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