I am cuckoo for kuku! Come to think of it, all Iranians are cuckoo for kuku! So what exactly is kuku that has gotten a whole nation and an entire race of people to fall madly in love?
Well, you say frittata, and I say
Here are some of the more popular kuku dishes:
- Kuku seebzamini: potato kuku
- kuku sabzi: fresh herbs kuku with barberries and walnuts
- kuku bademjan: eggplant kuku
- kuku kadoo: zucchini kuku
- kuku gol-kalam: cauliflower kuku
- kuku morgh: chicken kuku
Kuku Seebzamini
Potato patties
Ingredients
- 4 medium russet potatoes, about 900 grams
- 1 small onion, grated and juice squeezed out
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper, ground
- 1 teaspoon turmeric, ground
- 2 teaspoons dried mint, optional
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons bread crumbs, adjust as necessary
- 1/2 cup oil, adjust as needed for frying
Instructions
- In a medium sized pot, cover the potatoes with water and boil over medium heat for about 20 minutes or until they are almost fully cooked.
- Drain and set them aside until cooled.
- Once cooled, peel the potatoes and grate them into a large mixing bowl.
- Grate the onions, squeeze and discard the juice. Add the onion pulp to the mixing bowl.
- Add the remainder of the ingredients with the exception of the oil and mix well.
- The potato mixture should not be wet or too sticky. Adjust by adding more breadcrumbs if necessary.
- Using your hands, shape small oval or round patties, roughly about 3-4 inches wide and no more than 1/2 inch thick.
- Heat a large frying pan over medium heat with about 1/4 cup of oil.
- Place the patties in the frying pan and cook them in batches, about 4-5 minutes on each side.
- Add more oil as necessary until all the patties have been cooked.
- Once properly cooked, remove from the pan and place on paper towels to remove any excess oil.
- Kuku is often served with flatbreads, sides of fresh herbs, tomatoes, pickles, olives or yogurt.
Notes
A 1/4 teaspoon of ground saffron mixed with 1 tablespoon of water can be added for additional flavor and color.
Bread crumbs can be eliminated and replaced with 1 tablespoon of starch.
Alternatively, Kuku can also be made in one batch instead of individual patties. Pour the entire potato batter into an oiled frying pan and cook on medium heat for 15 minutes, covered.
Carefully flip the Kuku, add more oil and cook uncovered for 10 more minutes.Â
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
This recipe was so flavorful and delicious! Is it blasphemous to say that it outdid my family’s version? So excited to try your other recipes!
Hello Chef Omid,
I tried your recipe for the Kuku Seeb Zamini and the mix was great tasting and seemed to be the right consistency.
Liked the addition of mint very much. I made it all in one batch , but unfortunately somehow it did not have enough bind to be flipped and therefore it looked terrible and fell apart.—-any advice or input ?
You may consider adding more bread crumbs, eliminating all of the onion juice or using smaller eggs to reduce the amount of moisture.