Alternative names İzmir köfte Region or state İzmir | Type Stew Place of origin Turkey | |
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Main ingredients Minced meat (usually beef), bread crumbs, egg, garlic, and parsley, and generously spiced with cumin, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Variations Ciorbă de perişoare, Sulu köfte, Yuvarlak, Tabriz meatballs Similar Souvlaki, Yuvarlakia, Pastitsio, Saganaki, Kofta | ||
Soutzoukakia (smyrneika/politika) (Greek: σουτζουκάκια (σμυρνέικα/πολίτικα)) or İzmir köfte is a Greek and Turkish dish of spicy oblong kofte with cumin, cinnamon, and garlic served in tomato sauce.
Soutzoukakia are generally served with pilaf or mashed potatoes. This dish was brought to Greece by refugees from Asia Minor.
The meatballs are made with minced meat (usually beef, or a mixture of beef and pork), bread crumbs, egg, garlic, and parsley, and generously spiced with cumin, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. They are floured before being fried in olive oil. The tomato sauce has tomato, wine, onion, garlic, a bayleaf, salt and pepper, and olive oil.
Name
The Turkish name İzmir köfte means köfte from İzmir (the former Smyrna).
The Greek name σουτζουκάκια σμυρνέικα/πολίτικα means spicy little sausages (Turkish sucuk + Greek diminutive -άκι) from Smyrna/Constantinople. Soutzoukakia can sometimes refer to the same cylindrical meatballs when grilled (like kofte kebab) rather than served in sauce.