A hearty soup-stew built around very large lamb-and-rice meatballs, each hiding a dried sour plum at its core, simmered with chickpeas and potatoes in a saffron-tinted broth.
Kufta bozbash is one of Azerbaijan's national soups, built around an outsized meatball of minced lamb and rice with a dried sour plum hidden at its centre, afloat in a clear, chickpea-thickened broth tinted pale gold with saffron. It is traditionally served as both first and main course in one bowl.
Breaking the giant meatball open releases a burst of tart plum juice into the savory lamb, the acidity cutting the richness while the rice keeps the meat tender rather than dense. The broth is clear and pale gold, gently spiced, with creamy chickpeas and soft potato rounding out a deeply comforting bowl.
Rice mixed into the forcemeat absorbs juices and swells, keeping the oversized meatballs tender, while the hidden sour plum melts during simmering to season the lamb from the inside out and offset its fattiness.
Variations
kufta bozbash with chestnuts, version with mint-heavy broth, smaller meatballs for a quicker soup, version with saffron rice on the side
On the Palate
Where Kufta Bozbash sits in the Azerbaijani flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
8 steps · 40 min
- 160 min
Soak chickpeas overnight, then simmer with mutton bones to start a broth.
- 212 min
Mix minced lamb with par-cooked rice, grated onion, salt and pepper, then knead until tacky.
Watch outKnead the meat and rice until it turns sticky and cohesive — that tackiness is what holds the oversized balls together in the broth.
- 310 min
Shape the mixture into large balls, pressing a dried sour plum into the center of each.
Watch outBury the sour plum dead center and seal the meat fully around it, or it'll leak out as the ball cooks.
- 45 min
Lower the meatballs gently into the simmering broth so they hold their shape.
Watch outKeep the broth at a bare shiver, not a rolling boil, and lower the balls in gently so they set before they can fall apart.
- 55 min
Add quartered potatoes and a pinch of saffron dissolved in warm water.
- 640 min
Simmer gently until the meatballs are cooked through and the potatoes are tender.
Watch outSimmer gently the whole way — a hard boil batters the meatballs apart and clouds the broth.
- 73 min
Stir in dried mint and turmeric and check the seasoning.
- 83 min
Ladle one large meatball per bowl with broth, chickpeas and potato.
