From Serpil's Kitchen · Soup

Turkish Meatball Soup
(Ekşili Köfte)

This is the soup that won my daughter over. When she was little and refused to eat almost everything, her grandmother made this for her one day — and she loved it instantly. Turns out, her grandmother had been making it for my husband since he was a child too. My daughter is 10 now and still a picky eater — but she always eats this. I hope when you try it, you love it just as much as our family does.

Prep time20 minutes
Cook time35 minutes
Serves4 people
DifficultyEasy

Ingredients

For the köfte
0.9 lbground beef
1small onion, finely grated
1 tbspbasmati rice, rinsed
1 tspsalt
½ tspblack pepper
½ tspcumin
1–2 tbspflour (for shaping)
For the broth
1small carrot, diced small
1potato, diced small
1garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsptomato paste
1 tbspolive oil
34 fl ozwater (~1 liter)
½lemon, to finish

Instructions

1

Mix the köfte ingredients

In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, grated onion, rinsed rice, salt, black pepper, and cumin. Mix well with your hands until fully combined.

All köfte ingredients in a bowl
2

Knead thoroughly

Knead firmly for about 5 minutes. The rice needs to be evenly distributed — this is what makes the köfte tender as it cooks in the broth.

⏱ 5 minutes
3

Shape the mini köfte

Dust a tray lightly with flour. Roll the mixture into small marble-sized balls. Place them on the floured tray as you go. Set aside.

Mini köfte balls shaped and ready
4

Sauté garlic then add vegetables

Heat olive oil in a pot, add the crushed garlic and cook 1 minute. Add the diced carrot and potato and sauté for 1–2 minutes.

⏱ 3 minutes
Carrots and potatoes sautéing in the pot
5

Add tomato paste

Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1–2 minutes until it deepens in color and smells fragrant.

⏱ 2 minutes
Tomato paste added to the vegetables
6

Add water and bring to a boil

Pour in the water and stir everything together. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low.

Water added and soup coming to a boil
7

Add the mini köfte

Once boiling and the vegetables are just beginning to soften, gently drop in your mini köfte balls one by one.

Mini köfte added to the simmering broth
8

Simmer and serve

Reduce heat to low and simmer gently for 20–25 minutes until the vegetables and köfte are fully cooked. Finish with a squeeze of lemon and serve warm.

⏱ 20–25 minutes
Ekşili köfte served in a beautiful bowl with lemon

Serpil's Tip

The secret is making the köfte truly marble-sized — small enough that they cook through gently and stay tender. Don't rush the simmer; low and slow is what makes this taste like it came from a grandmother's kitchen. A squeeze of lemon at the end brightens the whole bowl beautifully.

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