Azadouhi’s vospov kofte: spiced red lentil balls

While I was researching recipes for this book, a woman called Sharice Babakhani gave me invaluable insight into the fasting food of the Armenian diaspora, told through the experiences of her grandmother Azadouhi. Azad, as she is known in her family, was born in Adana, Turkey, the first child of her parents to be born after her father escaped the Armenian genocide of the first world war. Her name means ‘freedom’ in Armenian. When Azadouhi was a small child, the family moved to Cyprus, where they lived in Omorphita, and she attended the well-known Armenian Melkonian school in Nicosia. There is a huge Armenian community in Cyprus, however during the 1974 war that divided the country, many Armenian families once again had to find new homes. Azadouhi and her family moved to the Greek territory of Cyprus, then to the UK in search of a better future. Azadouhi lived to be 100 years old, and throughout her life had an open-door philosophy, feeding her family and guests for all the big celebrations, and fasting according to Orthodox traditions. This recipe of hers was totally new to me, but is now very much part of my repertoire. You can also find another of Azadouhi’s recipes here: anoush abour, which has a beautiful and ancient religious story.

Great

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

Peel and finely chop the onions. Finely chop the flat-leaf parsley, stalks and all. Place a large saucepan on a medium-low heat and add the olive oil and one-third of the chopped onions. Fry for 15 minutes, or until golden and soft. Stir in the red split lentils and cover with 1.25 litres of water. Turn up the heat, bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes, or until the lentils are very soft. Drain the lentils and onion in a sieve over a bowl, so that you remove most of the excess water but reserve it for when you start kneading. The vegetables don’t need to be bone dry, but they shouldn’t be sopping wet. Transfer the lentils and onions to a large mixing bowl, then stir in the fine bulgur wheat, half the remaining chopped onion, one-third of the chopped parsley, the ground cumin and a half-teaspoon each of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Mix together then knead with your hands to form a paste – add as much of the drained water as you need to get a smooth mixture; it shouldn’t be dry, and you may need to add all of the reserved liquid, and even a touch more from the tap. Keep kneading, then take a small ball of the mixture and form with your hands into a small, two-bite kofte. Leave the indents of your fingers on the mixture.

Step 2

Halve the tomatoes and scoop out the seeds and flesh. Finely chop the flesh and mix in a small bowl with the remaining chopped onion and parsley. Add the sumac, season well and stir to combine.

Step 3

To eat, take a kofte and press it into the salad to make it stick, mopping up some of the juices as you go, and eat together. Or, less fun, you can dress the salad with the juice of the lemon and a little olive oil, and place on a plate with the kofte, to eat with a fork.