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Cig kofte (pronounced as chigh keufte and meaning literally "raw köfte" in Turkish, also written in one word, as çiğköfte) is a favorite Turkish snack and a speciality of South Eastern (Turkey) region.
Bulgur (cracked wheat) is kneaded with chopped onions and water until
it gets soft. Then tomato and pepper paste, spices and very finely
ground beef are added. This absolutely fatless raw mincemeat is treated
with spices while kneading the mixture, which is said to "cook" the
meat. Lastly, green onions, fresh mint and parsley are mixed in.
One spice that is associated with çiğ köfte, and with ŞanlıUrfa as a
whole, is "isot", a very dark, almost blackish paprika, prepared in a
special mannner, and which is considered as indispensable for an
authentically local preparation of çiğ köfte (and also of Lahmacun).
A favorite way of eating çiğ köfte is by sandwiching it within a
lettuce leaf, accompanied with good quantities of Ayran to counter-act
the burning sensation that this very spicy food will give.
For vegetarians, two no-meat versions also exist. In Siverek district
of Şanlıurfa, scrambled eggs are used instead of meat. And kısır, a
specialty of Gaziantep region, although it resembles çiğ köfte in its
conception, with more numerous and exclusively non-animal ingredients,
is a dish that stands on its own.
In Popular Culture
One interesting discussion on çiğ köfte involves the fact that Islam
actually strongly discourages eating raw meat (unless there is an
obligation). The argument, as mentioned above, is that the meat in çiğ
köfte is more than just cooked thanks to the extremely spicy
ingredients it is mixed with.
According to lore, cigkofte was invented in Urfa at the time of prophet
Ibrahim. When Nemrud collected all firewood in Urfa in order to build a
monumental execution pyre, the wife of a hunter had to prepare venison
raw. She mixed the meat with bulgur, herbs and spices and crushed the
mixture with stone implements until it was palatable.
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