Red lentil and bulgur croquettes (Turkish Mercimek Köftesi)

The Mercimek Köftesi are Red lentil and bulgur croquettes with spices, typical of Turkish cuisine. It’s about a meze either mixthat is, one of the appetizers most popular that are usually served accompanied by an alcoholic drink.

We have associated them with lentil croquettes because of their shape, although they also resemble meatballs. In fact köftesi is the plural of kofta or keftawhich means meatball, and mercimek means lentils.

It is about some Vegan red lentil and bulgur meatballs or croquettes, since they do not contain any ingredients of animal origin. They are very spicy like many of the Arab recipes, at the end we will leave you some advice in case you want to make them less spicy.

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With what to accompany the red lentil and bulgur croquettes

In Türkiye the Mercimek Köftesi are served as mixthat is, within a selection of appetizers that are accompanied with an alcoholic drink, generally the rakian aniseed liqueur.

If you want to prepare a style appetizer meze to surprise your guests you can include, in addition to these bulgur and red lentil croquettesother dishes like hummus, he baba ganoush of aubergines, the falafelSalad tabboulehthe koftas or keftas and olives.

Recipes for the Mezze:

In PequeRecipes

Homemade chickpea hummus (EASY recipe in 3 steps)

In PequeRecipes

Baba Ganoush or Mutabal (aubergine pate recipe)

In PequeRecipes

Homemade falafel with yogurt sauce (quick and easy recipe)

In PequeRecipes

Tabbouleh or tabbouleh (traditional Arabic salad)

In PequeRecipes

Keftas or koftas (recipe with yogurt sauce)

Tips for making perfect Mercimek Köftesi

Are these red lentil and bulgur croquettes spicy?

Yes they are hot and spicy. But you can regulate the degree of spiciness by putting less chilli flakes, less pepper, and using a sweet pepper paste such as chorizo ​​pepper pulp instead of the usual one. Biber salçasi.

Can I prepare them in advance?

Yes, you can prepare the dough the day before and leave it in the fridge in an airtight container. Keep in mind that the flavors will intensify, especially that of spices and heat.

Can they be frozen?

No, we do not advise you to freeze them because the texture will not be the same.

I have other types of lentils, can I use them?

Red lentils have a more delicate flavor that is better suited to bring out the full flavor of the spices, but yes, you can use other types of lentils if you have them at home.

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