Meatballs

🇹🇳Tunisia

Ain Sbaniouria

عين صبنورية

A Tunisian meat roll of spiced minced meat stuffed with hard-boiled eggs, simmered in a tomato sauce, named 'Spanish eye' for its appearance.

🇹🇷Black Sea Region, Turkey

Akçaabat köftesi

A Black Sea köfte from Akçaabat: minced beef shaped by hand and grilled over charcoal.

🇦🇿Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan

Arzuman Kufta

Arzuman küftəsi

Arzuman Kufta is an enormous celebratory Nakhchivan meatball built around a stuffed whole chicken and eggs, made for several people rather than as an everyday kufta.

🇦🇼Aruba

Balchi di Carni

Balchi Carni

Balchi di carni; Aruban meat balls; a traditional snack and side dish; deep-fried; a feature of roadside snack-bars; a staple of Aruban street food

🇧🇪Belgium

Ballekes

Ballekes are small Belgian meatballs simmered in a bright tomato sauce with onion and herbs.

🇩🇪Bavaria, Germany

Bavarian Meat Patties

Fleischpflanzerl

Bavarian meatballs or pan-fried meat patties, similar to Frikadellen but with regional seasoning.

🇬🇷Greece

Bifteki

Μπιφτέκι

Greek burger patty of ground meat (pork, lamb, or beef) with herbs and onions, grilled or baked. A taverna and home classic, often stuffed with feta, served with potatoes and salad.

🇮🇹Rome, Italy

Boccette in brodo

In Rome, Boccette in brodo is a clear soup of small meatballs, usually served hot with a light, savoury broth.

🇩🇰Denmark

Boller i karry (Meatballs in curry sauce)

Boller i karry

Boller i karry (Meatballs in curry sauce) is a meat dish from Denmark, rooted in local cooking tradition.

🇧🇪Liège, Belgium

Boulets à la Liégeoise

A Liège specialty: large meatballs of pork and beef in a sweet-sour brown sauce with Liège syrup and raisins, served with fries

🇬🇪Georgia

Caul-Wrapped Meatballs

Აფხაზურა

Spiced minced pork and beef patties wrapped in caul fat and fried or baked, then served with barberries and pomegranate.

🇸🇾Aleppo, Syria

Cherry Kebab

كباب كرز

Small lamb meatballs cooked in a sauce of sour morello cherries and pomegranate molasses, served over flatbread with pine nuts.

🇨🇦Canada

Chicken Balls

Boulettes de poulet

Breaded and fried chicken balls served with sweet and sour sauce, Canadian Chinese restaurant staple.

🇳🇱Netherlands

Dutch Meatballs

Gehaktballen

Large Dutch meatballs made with ground beef and pork, flavored with nutmeg, onions, and mustard, simmered in their own juices.

🇦🇲Vagharshapat, Armenia

Echmiadzin Kufta

Էջմիածնի քյուֆթա

Veal pounded for an hour with ice and salt until it turns into a smooth paste, shaped into a ball and poached, then served in slices with melted butter.

🇭🇺Hungary

Fasirozott

Fasírozott

Flat pan-fried meatballs with paprika.

🇫🇮Finland

Finnish Meatballs

Lihapullat

Finnish meatballs typically served with creamy brown gravy and lingonberry sauce, accompanied by potatoes.

🇮🇩Indonesia

Fried Meatballs

Bakso Goreng

Deep-fried meatballs with crispy exterior and juicy interior, often served as snack or dim sum.

🇩🇰Denmark

Frikadeller

Danish meatballs of ground pork and veal with onion, eggs, and flour, pan-fried and served with potatoes, gravy, and pickled red cabbage

🇿🇦South Africa

Frikkadels

South African meatballs of beef mince bound with soaked bread, onion and spices, fried or braised in tomato gravy and packed into school lunchboxes.

🇩🇪Germany

German Meatballs

Frikadellen

German meatballs or pan-fried patties, made with mixed ground meat, onions, and breadcrumbs.

🇮🇳Jammu and Kashmir, India

Goshtaba

گوشتابہ

Minced mutton is shaped into tender meatballs and simmered in a Kashmiri fennel-and-ginger gravy.

🇺🇦Ukraine

Grechanyky

Гречаники

Minced-meat patties bulked with boiled buckwheat groats, fried then simmered in gravy.

🇬🇪Georgia

Gupta

Ქუფთა

Gupta are Georgian meatballs simmered in a spiced sauce or light soup, made from seasoned minced meat and served as a home-style main.

🇹🇼Taiwan

Hakka Meatballs

客家貢丸

Hakka stuffed meatballs: minced pork and vegetables rolled into firm balls, steamed or braised.

🇹🇷Marmara Region, Turkey

Islama Köfte

A köfte specialty from Adapazarı (Sakarya) in northwestern Turkey. Grilled meat patties are dipped in a light tomato sauce and served inside a loaf of crusty bread that has been softened with the same sauce. The bread absorbs the meat juices and tomato flavor, creating a comforting, messy sandwich.

🇹🇷Turkey

Kadınbudu köfte

Ladylike' köfte: oval meatballs with an egg-butter centre, breaded and fried.

🇵🇸Palestine

Kafta b'Thine

كفتة بالطحينة

Minced lamb meatballs cooked in a tahini sauce with garlic, lemon, and potato, served over rice — a Palestinian comfort dish.

🇨🇫Central African Republic

Kanda (CAR)

Kanda

Beef meatballs bound with ground pumpkin seeds and simmered in a thick tomato sauce; the pumpkin seeds give a nutty body that sets the Central African version apart.

🇲🇦Morocco

Kefta

كفتة

Finely minced meat mixed with Moroccan cumin, paprika, onion, herbs, and salt for grilling or stews.

🇲🇦Morocco

Kefta Tagine (Meatballs & Eggs)

كفتة بالطماطم

Spiced minced beef (or lamb) meatballs simmered in a tomato-onion sauce with cumin and paprika, eggs cracked in at the end. A comforting, affordable Marrakech classic, served with bread, a national dish.

🇨🇾Cyprus

Keftedes

Κεφτέδες

Greek meatballs of ground pork or beef with herbs, onions, and bread, fried until golden. A meze and family classic, served with tzatziki and bread, a national staple.

🇳🇴Norway

Kjøttkaker

Norwegian meat cakes: thick, flat patties of ground beef, pork, or lamb with onion, fried and served in brun saus (brown gravy). A national comfort food, served with potatoes, peas, and lingonberry jam, a daily classic.

🇪🇬Egypt

Kofta

كفتة

A Egyptian grilled minced meat with onions, parsley, and spices, shaped onto skewers, served with rice or bread, a daily and grill classic

🇦🇫Afghanistan

Kofta Challow

کوفته چلو

Beef meatballs simmered in a tomato and split-pea sauce with coriander and served over white rice.

🇵🇱Poland

Kotlet Mielony

A Polish minced meat cutlet (pork or pork-and-beef), mixed with egg, bread, and onions, breaded and fried. A home-cooked classic, served with potatoes and cabbage.