Chiftele, plural form of chiftea, are flat and round meatballs from Romanian traditional cuisine. Chiftele are usually made from minced pork, mixed with mashed potatoes and spices, then deep-fried. Chiftele is served with pilaf or mashed potatoes. A variant mixing rice inside the meatball is called perişoare for sour soup, making ciorbă de perişoare.

There is a recipe called chiftele de peşte (fish chiftele) consisting of fishcake made from carp.

Etymology

The word chiftea comes from köfte, which is the Turkish word for kofta.^[1]

History

Centuries of Ottoman presence in Romania has left some variations from the Turkish culinary arts. Chiftele is the Romanian version of Turkish köfte.^{[citation needed]}