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Ruhi is my very dear friend. She is a superb cook who loves to entertain. In her repertoire, she has a number of signature dishes. Kotlets made of turkey meat are one of them and are they super delicious! I don’t exactly know the ratio of ingredients, or if there are any secret seasonings she uses, but this recipe is close and tastes just as good. This recipe is very similar to the kotlet recipe I posted almost 4 years ago, which is made with ground beef, both versions very delicious, but definitely different in taste.
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Kotlet • کتلت باگوشت بوقلمو • Turkey Meat Cutlets
Recipe by: Fae’s Twist & Tango (fae-magazine.com)
INGREDIENTS
• 454 g/ 1 lb/ russet potato or any high starch potatoes
• 280 g/ 10 oz/ 2 medium carrots
• 340 g/ 12 oz/ 1 large onion, minced
. . . or 2 heaping Tbsp caramelized onion
• 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 454 g/ 1 lb lean ground turkey
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• ¾ ~ 1 tsp salt
• 1/8 ~ ¼ tsp ground black pepper -or- a pinch or two of cayenne pepper
• 2 large eggs
For frying
• 1½ ~ 2 cups Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
• vegetable oil for frying
DIRECTIONS
◊ Do not use food-processor at any part of making this recipe.
◊ To save cooking time, peel the potato(s) and carrot(s), cut each into four large pieces and boil them in a saucepan until a thin knife can go through smoothly. Carrots cook faster and should be removed first. (Don’t overcook, better a tad harder than soggy.) Drain well, while hot, mash them smooth, with no lumps, and let cool.
◊ Meanwhile: In a large fry-pan, on medium heat, heat 3 Tbsp oil. Sauté minced onion until starts caramelizing on the edges. Turn off and remove from heat. Scoop/drain out the sautéed onion and add to the large heat-safe bowl. Set aside to cool completely. Leave the skillet as is with the remainder of the oil. It will be used later.
◊ Preparation for frying: Cover the counter space next to the burner with a large piece of plastic wrap. This is where formed patties will be placed before frying. Line a large heat-resistant platter with paper-towel and set next to the burner. Pour half of the breadcrumbs at one corner of the counter lined with plastic-wrap or in a plate (use more as needed).
◊ To the cooled potato mix, add ground turkey, caramelized onion, spices and eggs. (At this point, I strongly recommend… before kneading the mixture, wear medical-exam gloves to keep your nails/cuticles from turning yellow, due to the turmeric. If you don’t, it will wash off after a few washes, of course). Knead the mixture for a couple of minutes, until well incorporated. This is the secret to avoid patties falling apart in the oil while frying.
◊ Have a saucer with water ready. Dampen your hands/gloves with water and take a lump, size of a large egg, from the meat mixture. Roll between your palms for 10 seconds to form a firm ball. On your palm, flatten the ball into a pear shape, approximately 12cm x 7cm /4.5″x2.5″ (shrinks a bit after frying), a perfect shape for placing them in the large fry-pan.
◊ Place formed patty on the breadcrumbs and cover it lightly with breadcrumbs and lay it on the covered counter. (To give illustrations, see example photos below, which are from when I made beef kotlets).
◊ Using a large fry-pan, add oil 6mm/ ¼” deep. Heat on medium. It is wise to turn on the exhaust fan at this time.
◊ When the oil is hot, start putting in the cutlets without overcrowding. Fry one side for about 4 ~ 5 minutes, until a brown crust forms. Then with support of two, flat silicone or wooden spatula, flip and fry the other side for about 3 ~ 4 minutes. Put the fried patties on a plate lined with paper-towel to drain excess oil. (Note: For best result, to avoid burning breadcrumbs in the oil, strain the oil in a heat safe bowl, wipe fry-pan thoroughly with a paper towel, return the strained oil to the fry-pan, add more oil if needed, and start the next batch.
◊ Serve with bread or Persian rice, and grilled/fried tomatoes, and/or goes well with salad Shirazi too.
◊ Kotlet also makes great sandwich meat with sliced tomatoes, pickled cucumbers (in brine), mayo and/or Dijon mustard.
~ Noushe jan! • نوش جان ~
¯˜”*°☆°*”˜¯
Today, May 5th is Fae’s Twist & Tango’s 4 year blog anniversary.
I was hoping to have 300 recipes posted by the 3 year anniversary,
but haven’t yet met that goal. As of now, this is the 243rd recipe.
I thank each and every one of you for your support and encouragement
to make this endeavor a fun and worthwhile journey.
¯˜”*°☆°*”˜¯
You are so gifted Fae. Thinking good thoughts about you and your hubby and sending you both my prayers. Be well my friend~
Thank you, Cindy. We are in process of move, and will leave the beautiful city of Tiburon on 9/9. A plenty of work is awaiting until our take off to Rome on 10/4! xxx 🙂
A friend of mine buys chicken kotlets from a Persian store in LA area and she says they are amazing. Will share your recipe with her. Although your recipe is with turkey, I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to be able to make it herself. Thanks for the recipe 🙂
This recipe should work for ground chicken too. A reminder, do not try to mince the meat with food-processor. Ground meat makes fluffier and juicy kotlets, whereas food-processor minced kotlets become dense and unfavorable.
I’m sorry that I missed your anniversary, congratulations Fae. Your recipe is so different with the potato and carrots added to the meat. I’m sure I would like the kotlet.
Hello, Hello, dear Karen! Thank you very much for your kind words. Don’t days fly so fast! I cannot believe that 4 years have passed and more than that, I did cannot believe I have come up with 243 international recipes… and there are hundreds more I like to make and talk about it. 😀 )))
These cutlets must be amazing…I wish I could be better at deep frying!
Oh Margherita, these cutlets are really amazing. They disappear so fast! They really don’t absorb too much oil, so give it a go. 🙂
Happy Anniversary Fae, your collection of recipes are fantastic. Most of them unknown to me until I read your blog.
Thank you very much, dear Gerlinde! You made me very happy. I am glad that I have been introducing new recipes/options to my readers. 🙂
These cutlets look delicious, Fae! And congratulations on your 4th blog anniversary! 🙂
Thank you very much, dear Nancy for all your support. I’m looking forward to continue blogging and visiting your blog too for many years to come! 🙂
Congratulation Fae, 4 years of blogging and 243 amazing recipes. Thank you so much for sharing with us your ‘savoir faire’ and I look forward to many more to come.
The kotlets look absolutely delicious and tender! 🙂
Thank you for the kind words, dear Linda, and the feeling is mutual. I look forward to blogging along side with you for many years to come too! 🙂
Congrats on 4 years Fae – I always look forward to reading your posts as there is nothing ordinary about your recipes. These look delicious and i wish one or two was part of my dinner tonight as I am just grilling a turkey burger 🙂
Thank you, thank you, dear Judi. I feel the same way about your blog. I have never grilled turkey burger… now I shall try that too. 🙂
Happy anniversary dear Fae! You are a talented blogger with a big heart and I feel lucky to know you, wish you many many anniversaries ahead.
I really like this recipe, I also use ground turkey in my kotlet and have not used ground beef in years 🙂
Thank you for your kind comments, Homa jan! Together, we will post every recipe we can think of and invent some along the way. 😀 )))
These sound really, really good, Fae! I think the men in my home would love these cutlets. Thanks for the glove tip too! Happy Blogiversary!,
Hi Nancy, Definitely, men in your home would love these kotlets, because I know how fast they disappear when served. These gloves are a must in the kitchen. 🙂 Looking forward to many years of blogging and interacting with fine bloggers like you! xx 🙂
I like this recipe. Great way to use ground turkey. It will be my 4 year anniversary next month on wordpress. I have been thinking about it the last few days. When we started there was many food bloggers there that was great cooks. So it has been a real labor of love for all of us that have stayed with it.
Thanks for your friendship and many more anniversaries.
Hi Janet, Thank you very much for your kind comments, and I appreciate you friendship too. Yes, you are right, there were many bloggers when we started, who don’t blog anymore. I miss them. It is indeed a real labor of love, and coming-up with recipe after recipe and responding to comments regularly is not easy either.
Happy Anniversary to you too, and many more anniversaries together! xx 🙂
Happy anniversary!
Thank you, Chris! 🙂
The Kotlets look so tasty. I love the idea of cooked potatoes and carrots in it.
Happy blog anniversary! 🙂
Hi Ronit, Thank you very much. These kotlets are really tasty and addictive. 😀 )))
Happy Anniversary Fae!!!?
It’s truly amazing how Kotleti and salad Olivier are enjoyed all over the world. Everybody have their own twist, and that’s so great! Who would’ve thought?
Thank you, Vera, ? Oh yes, both so delicious! We are more integrated than we think. With availability of so many different ingredients from all parts of the world, we can definitely be as creative as edible it can be. 😀 )))
Looks delicious Fae! I also put carrot in my koleti, and love the addition of potato! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Peter, In Iranian/Persian cuisine, we have meat patties without vegetables (only grated onion and spices added) which we call it ‘fry-pan kabab‘/tabeh kabab. But when it comes to kotlet, potato is a must. I add carrots, as I was a Japanese in my previous life, adding colors is a must. When my son was small, I even added little amount of green peas to make it even more fun to eat. Thanks for leaving a comment! 🙂
Dear Fae,
Congratulations on your blog anniversary! wow! you have 243 amazing recipes! Love the kotlets .They look so yummy and picture perfect.
Have you made them with ground chicken?
Thank you, Sandhya! I was hoping to post more recipes in 4 years, but having said that, I cannot believe that I posted 243 recipes. I love your approach of internationally fusioned recipes, and along the same line, I try to add twists to recipes and make them a little bit more interesting.
I have not used ground chicken to make kotlet, but I don’t see any reason it would not be as good as ground turkey meat. I think, dark meat will make tastier result. xx 🙂
Congratulations Fae!! That’s quite an accomplishment! Well done. I’ve always enjoyed reading your blog, being informed of your culture and trying out some of your recipes. This kotlet is no different, I love the ingredients. I make something similar with vegetable cutlets, or sometimes with ground turkey, but I bake them. I’m sure the fried version tastes so much better. Thanks again, and good luck on the next party of your blogging journey. ~hugs~
Thank you, Loretta, You are kind and generous in your support and kind words. The feeling is mutual, and I always enjoy reading your blog too. A big hug back to you! xx
Dear Fae, happy anniversary! 243 recipes is quite impressive! I really enjoy your posts, especially when they tell a story (one of my favorites is “Omuraisu”, which I now make regularly in my kitchen).
Your friend’s kotlet (now yours) sound quite delicious, I just love that they are a mixture of meat and vegetables, and I can imagine the flavors, and the several textures of this dish. In Russia, “kotlety” are an institution, but they aren’t usually made with vegetables, just meat, seasonings, and often stale bread soaked in milk. and/or egg; quite different, but I must say, also very good. I imagine the word comes from Russia, and travelled to Iran through the Caucasus, but perhaps you know a different story?
Hi Darya, Thank you for the kind comments. It is amazing how time flies.
You are absolutely right! Although many Iranians don’t know, indeed credit goes to Russia, which Iran is grateful to for delicious Kotlet and Salad Olivier, among others. 🙂