Crispy pan-fried Persian potato and beef patties, seasoned with turmeric and onion, tucked into fresh bread with pickles and herbs.
Kotlet is a beloved Persian home-cooked patty, made from a mixture of ground beef, mashed potato, and grated onion, seasoned with turmeric and black pepper, then coated in breadcrumbs and pan-fried until deeply golden and crisp. Turned into a sandwich with fresh herbs, pickles, and torshi (Persian pickled vegetables), kotlet sandwiches are a beloved lunch and picnic food across Iran, often packed for school or work. The technique that defines a good kotlet is the potato-to-meat ratio and the crumb coating: mashed potato, mixed in generous proportion with the ground meat, keeps the patties tender and slightly fluffy inside, while a thorough coating of breadcrumbs fried in a generous amount of oil creates the signature crisp, golden shell. Turmeric gives kotlet its characteristic golden hue and subtle earthy flavor, distinguishing it from a plain Western-style meat patty. Served in fresh flatbread or a baguette-style roll with herbs, pickles, and sometimes a smear of mayonnaise, kotlet sandwiches are quick, satisfying Persian street and home food -- crisp outside, soft and savory within.
Serves 3
Combine ground beef, mashed potato, grated onion, egg, turmeric, salt, and pepper. Mix well until smooth and combined.
Form into flattened oval patties, about 1cm thick.
Press each patty into breadcrumbs, coating both sides evenly.
Heat oil in a wide pan over medium heat. Fry patties 4-5 minutes per side until deeply golden and cooked through.
Drain briefly on paper towels.
Tuck fried kotlet into flatbread or rolls with pickles and fresh herbs. Serve immediately.
Squeeze the grated onion very dry before mixing in -- excess moisture makes the patties too soft to hold their shape while frying.
Chill the shaped patties for 15-20 minutes before frying if they feel too soft to handle; this firms them up.
Fry over medium heat, not high -- kotlet needs time for the potato-meat interior to cook through before the crumb coating burns.
Add finely chopped fresh parsley to the patty mixture for extra herbaceousness.
Use ground chicken instead of beef for a lighter version.
Serve open-faced on bread rather than as a closed sandwich, a common lunch presentation.
Refrigerate cooked patties up to 3 days in an airtight container. Reheat in a dry pan over medium heat for 2-3 minutes per side to restore crispness, rather than microwaving.
Kotlet reflects Persian cuisine's adaptation of European-style cutlets (likely introduced through Russian and European culinary influence in the 19th and 20th centuries), transformed with distinctly Persian seasoning like turmeric and served as a home-cooking staple across Iran.
The onion likely wasn't squeezed dry enough, or there wasn't enough potato-egg binding relative to meat. Squeeze the onion firmly and ensure the mixture holds together well before shaping.
Yes -- bake at 200C/400F for about 20-25 minutes, flipping halfway, though the texture will be less crisp than pan-frying in oil.
Torshi is Persian pickled vegetables, often a mix of cauliflower, carrot, and herbs pickled in vinegar; it's a classic accompaniment to kotlet, though any tangy pickle works as a substitute.
Per serving (280g / 9.9 oz) · 3 servings total
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