These Eastern European meat patties - known as Kotleti - are easy to make with a mixture of ground meat, spices and other common ingredients. Pan-fried in just a few minutes, they can be served with potatoes, rice, salad, and more for a filling meal!
Add the ground meat, egg, salt, granulated garlic, and ground coriander to a large bowl.
Cut off the crusts from the bread slices. Crumble the bread by hand or in a blender or food processor. Add the bread pieces to the bowl with the meat mixture and pour in the milk. Also add the finely chopped onion. Mix everything thoroughly until well combined.
With your wet hands, shape the meat mixture into small oval or round kotleti (about 2 inches wide or 3 inches long).
Heat some oil in a frying pan over low heat and place some of the patties in the pan. Fry over low heat for 5 minutes on one side. Then flip the patties over and cover the pan with a lid. Fry them for another 4 minutes on the other side or until fully cooked. You can add a small amount of water - then the crust of the cutlets will be softer, but the patties will also turn out juicier and softer inside.
Transfer the cooked patties to a plate or bowl and remove any remaining ground meat and water from the pan. Then repeat the frying process until all the meat mixture is used up.
You can serve the kotleti with pasta, rice or potatoes, as well as vegetables and salad.
Notes
Kotleti can be made with any type of ground meat. Chicken and turkey kotleti are often prepared for children. The most popular version is probably made with ground pork and beef. We used ground turkey.
You can also add other ingredients to the meat mixture, such as chopped lard (for extra juiciness), grated potatoes, spices, fresh herbs, cottage cheese, grated cheese, or mushrooms.
The patties should all be about the same size so they cook evenly.
You can freeze the kotleti either before or after cooking.
Sometimes, people simmer the fried kotleti in a tomato and vegetable sauce, with or without sour cream.
This nutritional information has been estimated by an online nutrition calculator. It should only be seen as a rough calculation and not a replacement for professional dietary advice.