FELLAH MEATBALL (Fellah Köfte)

Surprised to see a meatball under vegetarian title? We, Turkish people are a bit obsessed with meat, assign the name meatball even to meals without meat inside. These meatballs are made up of bulgur, surprisingly very tasty. I, myself, tried this first time and wasn't expecting them to be this tasty. You should try! Fellah means a peasant or farmer in Middle East (wikipedia). The word itself derived from Arabic, used in the geography widely yet I'm not sure whether it's in use in Turkey, maybe only in this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 200 g bulgur
• 250 mL hot water
• 1 egg
• Flour, 3 tablespoons
• Blackpepper, 1 teaspoon
• Cumin, 1 teaspoon
• Red pepper, 1 teaspoon
• Salt, 1 teaspoon (+ a tablespoon for boiling water)
• 1L water, for boiling

For the dressing:

• Vegetable oil, 3 tablespoons
• 5 cloves of garlic
• Salcha (or tomato paste), 1 tablespoon
• Parsley, half pack
• Sumac, 1 teaspoon
• Half lemon

Preparation:

• In a bowl, soak the bulgur in hot water, cover with a cling film and leave it to rest for 10 minutes.
• Mix bulgur after 10 minutes and add egg, flour, salt, spices and knead for 15 minutes. (15 minutes of kneading is a bit long but it is necessary. We knead not just to mix them all together but also to make bulgur thinner. so bring those arm power into kneading!)
• Prepare a cold water in a seperate bowl to dip your hands into. 
• Take a pinch of the kneaded bulgur mixture, just a teaspoon full of, and roll in your palm. Wetting your hands every once in a while helps rolling them smoothly.
• Bring 1L of water into boil, add a tablespoon of salt (this makes the water salty but it prevents the meatballs from dispersing.)
• Let the water simmer, drop the individual meatballs one by one into the simmering water. Cook for 5-6 minutes, collect them back with a slotted spoon. Do not discard the water, yet. 
• In a pan, heat up the oil, salcha and crushed garlic and mix them till they come together. 
• Add a ladle full of the water (app. 150 mL) in which the meatballs were cooked and add to the pan with hot oil. Cook them fast till the sauce thickens.
• Pour the sauce onto the meatballs. Sprinkle lemon juice and sumac, decorate with parsley.
• Enjoy while it is hot!