Super Easy Vegan Lentil Balls Recipe

 

Vegan red lentil balls

Turkish Red Rentil and Cracked Wheat (Bulgur) Balls - Mercimekli Köfte 

We have had our last tea party  in last december. There was a table in the middle of the parlor and it was donated by the delicious foods. We remembered the our last tea party very clearly! At that day, we prepared cotton soft pastry (Turkish Pogaca), biscuit pudding cake, arm byrek (pastry), milk pudding with dried figs cake, Turkish plain pancake, Erzincan delight (Erzincan Lokumu) cookies, Turkish red rentil and cracked wheat (Bulgur) balls/patties (Mercimekli Köfte) etc. What about bevarege? Only Turkish tea. It is known in Turkish as çay (pronounced like chai), in Turkey tea is much more than a drink. We consume it with breakfast to dinner everytime. Shortly, there were tons of delicious Turkish foods on the table for relatives, neighbours and  close friends. You may like our Milk-pudding-with-dried-figs-cake-recipe.

Red Lentil Patties Turkish

Until the that day, we have had tea parties as weekly. But, by the Covid-19 entered in our lives, we delayed our all tea parties until we stay safe. We miss tea parties and our friends very much, even we meet on the internet or phone conversation. Actually, in Turkey, the idea of having a tea party where we invited everyone around us, came from the neighbours in the neighbourhood, close friends in the work and relatives. Do you want try our Turkish-plain-pancake-recipe.

Place patties on freshly washed
 lettuce leaves

Generally, our tea parties' five stars side dish is Turkish Red Rentil and Cracked Wheat (Bulgur) Patties (Mercimekli Köfte). We often make this vegan red rentil balls and we love it very much. Yes, in this post, we are going to mention about one of our vegan recipes. This delicious vegetarian dish is Turkish Red Rentil and Cracked Wheat (Bulgur) Patties (Mercimekli Köfte). You may like our special Erzincan-delight-recipe

What is Turkish Red Rentil and Cracked Wheat (Bulgur) Patties (Mercimekli Köfte)? 

Red lentil patties are 100% vegetarian and this lentil balls are really very herby patties. We are sure that; you love  this very delicious meatless balls. We are sure that; you love the combination of flavours. This well loved Turkish side dish is really healthy and fingerlickingly delicious. It is a very easy vegetarian recipe, you just combine cooked Turkish red lentils and cracked wheat (Bulgur) with spices, parsley and seasoning and shape into patties. Perfect for the parties, family dinners, friends day and relatives day. These meatless patties are never served as main course dish in Turkey.  But rather as part of a tea party, family dinner etc. So this recipe would serve 8-10 people 3-4 red lentil patties per person. You may like our Grandma's Simple-biscuit-pudding-cake-recipe

In Turkey, these tender delights are called in Turkish: mercimek köftesi (pronounced like mare-juh-mek kuf-tay-see). Do you want to try our Rose-shaped-turkish-pogaca-pastry-recipe.

Lentil ball can be rolled into leaves of
Lettuce

Or lentil ball canbe rolled into the 
Flat bread - lavash

How to Make Turkish Red Rentil and Cracked Wheat (Bulgur) Patties (Mercimekli Köfte)? 

As we mentioned earlier posts of the this blog; afternoon tea parties are very popular among the Turkish women. Especially, this unique meatless patties are served mostly with the afternoon tea parties or other special days. This is one of our favorite Turkish vegan recipes. Yes, today, we are going to share our special and very vegetarian Turkish red rentil and cracked wheat (Bulgur) pattie (Mercimekli Köfte)'s recipe. It is a very easy vegetarian recipe, you just combine cooked Turkish red lentils and cracked wheat (Bulgur) with spices, parsley and seasoning and shape into patties. We mean that don't wory, its recipe is not complicated. Turkish red rentil and cracked wheat (Bulgur) pattie (Mercimekli Köfte) are not fried as croquettes or meat base patties, they are just eaten straight after shaped into a pattie (köfte). Yes ready after shaped but served after cooled in the fridge. You may like our Spinach-arm-byrek-recipe.

Ingredients of lentil patties

 

Ingredients of lentil balls

Wash your lentil well

Recipe of Turkish Red Rentil and Cracked Wheat (Bulgur) Patties (Mercimekli Köfte)

Turkish red rentil and cracked wheat (Bulgur) patties (Mercimekli Köfte) are amazing. We loved them, and so did our children and other members of family, who eagerly wrapped them in leaves of lettuce, but then decided to smash them on Turkish flat bread and make them into wrapped sandwiches. Also you like our How-to-make-turkish-tabbouleh-salad-recipe.

Boil lentils on medium heat in 2 cups 
Water

Preparation of olive oil, onion and 
Spicy mixture

Preparation of olive oil, onion and 
Spicy mixture - 2

Preparation of olive oil, onion and 
Spicy mixture - 3

Add olive oil and onion mixture
To the lentils

Then Add chopped parsley and 
Lemon juice

Lentil Balls are ready

Roll into leaves of lettuce and
Eat directly

Here it is our Turkish red rentil and cracked wheat (Bulgur) patties (Mercimekli Köfte)'s recipe;

Serve: 8-10servings, preparation Time:10-15 minutes, Cooking Time: 20-25 minutes, Cuisine: Mediterranean/Anatolian Cuisine - mediterranean diet, 

Very good family favourite;

Ingredients: 

• 2 Cups red lentils,
• 2,5 or 3 cups of water,
• 1 Cup fine cracked wheat (Bulgur),
• 1/2 Cup olive oil,
• 1 Normal size onion, finely chopped,
• 2 Garlic cloves, finely diced,
• 1/2 or 1 Bunch of parsley, finely chopped,
• 1 Teaspoon Red flakes pepper,
• 1 Teaspoon Ground black pepper,
• 1 Teaspoon salt,
• 1 Tablespoon Tomato paste and pepper paste, (if you want, you can use one of them. In this recipe; we used both of them),
• 1 Teaspoon Cumin,
• Juice of half or 1 Lemon (it depends on how you like it; sour or not so sour),
• A Curly leaf lettuce,

Preparation:

1. First of all put all your ingredients on your work surface, then wash your lentils and boil them on medium heat in 2 cups of water until the water is almost gone. Then, add cracked wheat (bulgur) and salt and mix well, then cover, allowing it to absorb the remaining water.
2. Then, heat olive oil with cumin, red flakes pepper, ground black pepper in a pan and add the onion and finely diced gstlic and cook until soft. Then, add tomato paste and pepper paste cook for another 2-3 minutes, and keep stirring mixture until you turn it off. After that, add this mixture to the lentils which should be cool by now.
3. Then, add lemon juice and finely chopped parsley to the lentils. Mix all of them well.
4. Well done, your patties mixture is ready (you don't need to fry the balls): Just take walnut size (or egg size) pieces and give them pattie (köfte) shape in your hands. Keep alittle cup of water close by to wet your hands frequently during this process since the red lentil pattie (köfte) mixture will get stuck on your hands.
5. After forming your patties and place them on freshly washed lettuce leaves to serve. The Patties can be rolled into the leaves and eat. 

ENJOY!

Turkish Red Lentil Patties

Red Lentil Balls Recipe

You may like our Mediterranean-orzo-chicken-salad-recipe and How-to-make-ezme-spicy-tomato-salad-recipe

Please let us know how this "Turkish Red Rentil and Cracked Wheat (Bulgur) Patties (Mercimekli Köfte) Recipe" turns out for you in the comments. We are always so eager to hear from you.

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