The Turkish appetizer made in a raw-meatball style from bulgur and spices is çiğ köfte.
Çiğ köfte is a seasoned mixture kneaded until smooth, traditionally combining very finely ground raw beef or lamb with bulgur, onion, tomato paste, pepper paste, parsley, lemon and hot spices such as isot. It is shaped into small portions and commonly served on lettuce leaves with lemon, often alongside ayran.
The name literally means “raw meatball”: çiğ means “raw,” while köfte means “meatball.” The dish is especially associated with Şanlıurfa and southeastern Turkey, but it is also part of Armenian culinary tradition and resembles other uncooked, kneaded meat dishes such as kibbeh nayyeh.
A common modern mix-up concerns its meat content. Turkey banned public sales of çiğ köfte made with raw meat in 2008 because of food-safety risks. As a result, commercial Turkish versions are generally vegetarian or vegan, using bulgur, nuts, potato or other ingredients instead. Traditional meat-based and modern meatless versions share the same name and spiced preparation style.