Name: Kofteh Tabrizi
Total time: 3 hours
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: ¾ cup basmati rice, rinsed until water runs almost clear; ¾ cup yellow split peas; ½ cup dried apricots, coarsely chopped; ½ cup dried prunes, coarsely chopped; 3 Tbsp. dried barberries, rinsed, or dried currants, divided; 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil; 1 medium onion, thinly sliced, plus ½ small onion, coarsely grated; 1 6-oz. can tomato paste; 1 tsp. ground lemon omani (dried black lime); 1 tsp. ground turmeric; ½ tsp. freshly ground white pepper; 2 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 Tbsp. plus ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, divided; 2½ tsp. dried mint, divided; ¼ cup fresh lemon juice; 3 large eggs; 1 lb. ground beef; ½ cup finely chopped chives; ½ cup finely chopped parsley; ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro; 2 Tbsp. finely chopped tarragon; 1 Tbsp. dried summer savory or oregano; ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper; 12 walnut halves; 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter; Pinch of ground cinnamon; Pinch of sugar

Braised beef and rice meatballs with nuts dried apricots prunes and barberries and served with picked vegetables and olives.

Photo by Yasara Gunawardena

“Kofteh is a showstopper dish,” says Cody Ma, who, along with his partner Misha Sesar, runs Persian all-day café Azizam, one of our Best New Restaurants of 2024. “It's seen as a feat, especially for larger parties; you hardly ever see it at a restaurant in the US.” At Azizam, Ma and Sesar serve a version of these hearty fruit-and-nut-stuffed balls of beef and grains inspired by the kofteh their grandmothers made growing up—served individually in a pool of sauce and topped with barberries.

Because the mixture of ground beef, basmati rice, and parcooked split peas is particularly tender, it can be a little tricky to form and stuff these oversized balls. At the restaurant, Ma and Sesar make a ball out of the dried fruit and walnut pieces to press into the center of the mixture, but if your fruit isn’t very sticky, it’s easier to add a scoop of the chopped fruit and the nut halves to the top of a flattened meat patty, then wrap the mixture around the filling. —Kendra Vaculin, test kitchen editor

Editor's Note: Lemon omani, also called dried black or Persian lime, is worth seeking out—for this recipe and other braises or stews. Boiled in salt brine, then dried in the sun, just 1 tsp. of ground limes packs a bunch of tart, earthy flavor.

All products featured on Epicurious are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.