Palestinian Fish Kofta Meatballs + Video | Silk Road Recipes (2024)

Palestinian Fish Meatballs include flaky cod, fresh herbs, aromatic spices and red chiles. Make fish kofta for a delicious starter or a light meal!

Middle Eastern cuisine can be as much a delight for your sense of smell as it is to your tongue! Palestinian seasonings are rich and earthy, with aromatic spices like sumac, and fresh herbs like parsley and mint.

Combining those seasonings with an otherwise bland food like chickpeas transforms it into delicious and vibrant dish of hummus. The same applies with mild proteins like chicken or codfish. Jordanian Roasted Chicken and fish kofta meatballs are perfect examples of this!

Ingredients for Fish Meatballs

• Olive oil– This is for frying the pan fried fish balls. Feel free to substitute it with any neutral flavored cooking oil of your choice.
  
• Onion– Both red and white onion are needed. The sweetness of red onion compliments the sharp bite of the white variety.
  
• Fresh garlic cloves– You’ll be mincing the garlic, so fresh cloves provide the best flavor. Otherwise, jars of minced garlic will work.
  
• Codfish– Any mild whitefish may be substituted for the cod.
  
• Red chiles– I like to use fresno chiles or red jalapeño. For spicier heat, you could use use Thai chiles or even fiery scotch bonnets.
  
• Spices– The sumac, cardamom, cumin, paprika, and turmeric in this dish add earthiness and an intoxicating aroma!
  
• Fresh herbs– Both fresh dill and parsley compliment the flavor of the fish without overpowering it.
  
• Lemon– You will never go wrong adding a splash of bright citrus juice or zest to a fish balls recipe!
  
• Egg– This ingredient acts as a binder for the other ingredients, preventing the meatballs from falling apart as they cook. Unlike beef or lamb kofta meatballs, fish isn’t as watery when it’s ground up. Therefore, you shouldn’t need to add any breadcrumbs, crackers, or bread to help bind the meatballs together.

Video: How to make fish kofta

You can watch us make this dish in a video, located in the recipe card at the bottom of this post!

1. Preheat the oven. Although we start with pan fried fish balls the meatballs will finish baking in the oven.
   
2. Saute onion and garlic to soften. Cook the vegetables just to soften them, you don’t want to caramelize them. After cooking, be sure to let them cool before you process them in the food processor.
   
3. Process the fish meatballs mixture. Add all of the ingredients to your food processor and pulse to combine.

IMPORTANT: Do not overprocess the fish mixture! You need to grind everything, but you don’t want a mushy paste.

4. Pan fry the fish balls. Before you add the kofta meatballs to the pan, be sure that the oil is hot. Otherwise, they’ll absorb the oil and become greasy.
   
5. Finish baking them in the oven.
   
6. Plate and serve! Spread some Greek yogurt or homemade labneh onto each plate and serve the kofta on top, garnished with a wedge of lemon and sprinkling of sumac, if desired.

Make ahead instructions

Fish kofta can be made up to a day in advance, up to the point where they are about to go into the oven.

Once cooked, they can be eaten immediately or refrigerated and served the next day. Serve either at room temperature or warm them through in the oven.

What to serve with fish meatballs

Kofta meatballs are delicious for a light meal with a side of chopped veggie salad, or serve the fish balls in khubz (pita bread) with tzatziki or homemade labneh.