A report on Kofte

For a snack last night, I made what we at my home would call kofte, what other calls kibbe, and what I've seen rendered in some books as "stuffed footballs". All of these things are the same, which is to say a football shaped shell of bulghur wheat, onion and ground meat of some sort, stuffed with more ground meat, spices, onions and nuts, and then fried to a golden brown. Though they turned out fine, they could have been much better. My notes follow:

1. My grandmother used to make these by pounding the meat, bulghur and onion by hand until it was a paste thick enough to make a shell. A food processor works great.

2. 1/2 cup of burghul for a half pound of meat does not make a proper shell in terms of flavor and color. I will up this to a full cup per half pound next time.

3. Seasoning, seasoning, seasoning. Kofte needs salt. Lots of salt. And other spices too (Query allspice, cinammon, clove?).

4. Do not be afraid of the deep fryer. Low temperatures do nothing for kofte.