Kotlet aka Persian meat patties are one of a kind and an all-time favorite. They are crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside!
It's always great to see that you love and make our Persian recipes at home. When readers reach out and say they have made our ghormeh sabzi or zereshk polo, and have served it with mast o khiar, it makes me so happy! Now here is a new addition to our collection: Kotlet also known as Persian meat patties.
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What is Kotlet?
Kotlet is a Persian dish made with ground beef and lamb mixed with spices and eggs and fried in a pan. It originates from the word "cutlet" which means a thin slice of meat or a croquette or cutlet-shaped patty made with ground meat. Kotlet is a delicious family dinner that also makes great leftovers and is perfect for school lunch.
There are many ways to make kotlet and each Iranian family has its own method and list of ingredients to use. The recipe I'm sharing with you today is my family's and we've been making it for years.
Ingredients notes and substitutions
To make these Persian meat patties, all you need are only a few ingredients:
- Ground beef: I usually use lean ground beef for this recipe. You can also use ground lamb or a combination of ground lamb and beef.
- Potatoes: Russet potatoes work best for this recipe. You can either use them raw or boil them in advance. Both approaches will result in delicious patties. I've shown the method using raw potatoes in this recipe.
- Onion: You need to grate the onion and squeeze out all the excess liquid.
- Spices: this recipe calls for turmeric, salt and pepper. Some might also add cayenne, paprika or cumin.
- Flour: Just a few tablespoons of all purpose flour to bring the mixture together.
- Egg: This works as a binding agent in this recipe.
How to make Kotlet
- Mix the ground meat (lamb, beef or a combination of both) with the grated onion, grated potatoes, spices, egg and flour.
- Pour the oil in the pan, enough to cover the bottom of the pan and heat it over medium heat. Wet your hands with water and grab about 2 tablespoons of the mixture and shape it into a patty. Repeat with the remaining mixture.
- Place the patties in the oil and sear for about 5 minutes on each side until the outside is brown and crispy and the inside is fully cooked.
Serving suggestion
The traditional way of serving kotlet is with some bread such as lavash or barbari and pickles, tomatoes and fries. You can easily turn this into a wrap for an easy on the go meal.
You can also serve these Persian meat patties with white rice, saffron rice or Persian rice with tahdig. I also like to have some Persian pickles on the side for more flavor.
Frequently asked questions
Persian meat patties are originally fried in a pan but I have also baked them in the oven and they turn out pretty good. To bake kotlet, preheat the oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat with extra virgin olive oil. Shape the patties and place them on the baking sheet and bake in the oven for 30 minutes, flipping half way through.
Yes! Traditionally, kotlet is made with either ground lamb, beef or a combination of the two. But you can use ground turkey as well.
The reason the patties are burnt on the outside and raw on the inside could be the heat. If the heat is too high the inside will be raw.
Yes. You can make the mixture up to a day in advance. It's also possible to make the patties a day in advance and keep them in the refrigerator and heat when ready to eat.
Place the leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days. You can also freeze them in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. To serve, thaw them in the fridge overnight and reheat in a pan over medium heat.
More Persian recipes
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Step-by-Step Recipe
Persian Meat Patties- Kotlet
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 russet potato
- 1 onion
- 1 egg
- 3 tbsp. flour
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoon vegetable oil
To serve:
- 1 tomatoes sliced
- 1 cup pickles sliced
- fries
Instructions
- Grate the onion. Squeeze it very hard and dispose all the juice. (The juice will make the patties fall apart). Peel and grate the potato as well.
- Mix the grated onion with ground beef.
- Add the egg, flour and spices, using your hand, mix everything until well combined. The mixture is going to be very sticky.
- Heat the oil in a shallow pan over medium heat.
- Place a bowl of water near yourself, wet your hands, take about 2 tablespoons of the patty mixture, form into oval and fry it in the oil, about 5 minutes on each side until brown and cooked inside.
- Serve warm with tomatoes, fries and pickled cucumber.
Notes
- You can boil the potatoes in advance, mash them and add them to the rest of the ingredients.
- To fry the patties, you can use vegetable oil, canola oil or avocado oil.
- To bake kotlet, preheat the oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat with extra virgin olive oil. Shape the patties and place them on the baking sheet and bake in the oven for 30 minutes, flipping half way through.
- Store the leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months.
Kalee
I love trying out new recipes, and this was so delicious! Thank you for a new dinner idea!
Reza
Please don't say "Persian".
It is Iranian.
Shadi HasanzadeNemati
Thank you for your note Reza.
Regan Mashayekhi
I prefer Persia it's beautiful
Arash
In my Family tradition always use raw grated potatoes like (hash browns) and never use egg; And use chickpeas roster flour with some spice and herbs like tarragon and Savory
If you wants a bit texture you can use bread crumbs or oatmeals.
Shadi HasanzadeNemati
Love the addition of tarragon! Thank you for the suggestions!
Pari
Hi
Are you sure about the amount of meat. I think it should be one pound .
Thank you
Shadi HasanzadeNemati
Hi Pari, It's 1/2 pound beef and it will make enough meat patties for 2-3 people. You can always double all the ingredients and make more 🙂
Wilhelmina
I can't wait to give this recipe a try!
Shadi HasanzadeNemati
Hope you enjoy it!
Taryn
We had Persian food for the first time recently and loved it! I'm so happy to find this recipe.
Shadi HasanzadeNemati
Glad you liked it Taryn! Hope you try kotlet and enjoy it! 🙂
Behnam
Awesome recipe, I tried to make it with
Raw grated potatoes as many recipes suggest but knew
Something wasn’t right. As a last child of six brothers I always cooked with my maman and kept trying to
Remember how she used to make them. Thanks for
The recipe, this looks like exactly how she made
Them. She is smiling in heaven.
Shadi HasanzadeNemati
Behnam, your comment was so sweet, thank you so much for your kind comment and I'm so happy that this recipe brought back memories of you and your maman 🙂 your comment made my day 🙂
Anne Murphy
These sound wonderful! I'm not wild about American style burgers, but a more complex patty like this gets interesting...
unicornsinthekitchen@gmail.com
Anne this is everyones favorite. What I love about it is that every family has its own way of making it! 🙂
Manal Obieda
MMmmmm...this looks delicious as a sandwich...it reminds me of our Kufta made off of ground meat, onions, parsley and spices...lovely dish..
Diane
I love that these can be made easily with ingredients I already have in my pantry and they are Persian! It's so fun to explore new cultures and their foods. This one looks pretty tasty and it has potatoes!
unicornsinthekitchen@gmail.com
Thank you Diane! Yes many Persian foods can be made with the stuff everyone has in their pantry and they are so delicious! It's the matter of spices! I'm happy you liked it! <3
Razena | Tantalisemytastebuds@gmail.com
These kotlette remind me of the kebabs my mum used to make. Mother's food is always the best 🙂
unicornsinthekitchen@gmail.com
Totally agree with you Razena! Nothing's better than mother's food! Do you have a recipe of your mom's kebabs? 🙂 <3
LydiaF
I really enjoy your Persian recipes. I like that you can "stretch" the meat with the potatoes.
unicornsinthekitchen@gmail.com
Thank you Lydia! I'm glad you like them! These are the dishes my mom makes and I love to post them for everyone 🙂
Cristie | Little Big H
I love traditional recipes. These sound really great. I'm happy I have discovered your blog - so many great recipes, thanks. x
unicornsinthekitchen@gmail.com
Hi Cristie! Thanks for stopping by! Traditional recipes are my favorite too! 🙂
Brian Jones
These sound great, I may be tempted to drop a little cumin in when I give the a whirl 😀
unicornsinthekitchen@gmail.com
Hey Brian! I'm quite sure some cumin will make it delicious!
Isabelle @ Crumb
Recipes that come straight from maman are always the best. I'm pretty sure I call my mother at least once a month to get a recipe because I suddenly got a craving for something she used to make. 🙂
These patties look delicious. I've tried a few similar recipes before (like Serbian cevapi and Turkish kofta), but I've never tried the Persian style. I'm very intrigued by the use of grated cooked potato... it sounds like it would keep the patties really flavourful and moist.
unicornsinthekitchen@gmail.com
Isabelle that is very true! Mamans make the best food in the world! I have never had the Serbian version but I have had Turkish kofta. These Persian meat patties though as you said are very moist and flavorful because of the boiled potatoes, there are versions that use raw grated potatoes but I prefer boiled 😀