Rumanian Meatballs (Chiftele)

The Rumanian word "chiftele" (pronounced as if, "keef-tehlay"), means "meatball," and it is the Rumanian rendering of Turkish "Köfte," the Turkish word for "meatball." * While the words may be similar, the Rumanian and Turkish meatball recipes have little in common. The Turks (as the Ottoman Empire) ruled Rumania for quite some time, although most of the day to day governance was done by Rumanian princes, with the approval of the Ottoman Turks, to whom the princes paid a fee.

Ingredients:

1 pound of ground pork
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1 medium potato, grated, then squeezed of liquid
1/2 carrot, grated
3 tablespoons dill, chopped
3 tablespoons parsley, chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup breadcrumbs, I use panko, or use 1 stale white roll, coarsely ground
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
flour (for coating the meatballs)
vegetable oil or canola oil for frying

In a large heavy bottomed skillet, over medium heat, heat enough oil to provide a small layer of oil over the bottom of the skillet. In a bowl, mix all of the ingredients, except the flour. Roll amounts of the mixture into meatballs about the size of a ping pong ball. Roll the meatballs in flour to coat them, shaking off the excess flour. Put the meatballs into the hot oil, but don't overcrowd the pan, and you can fry the meatballs in batches. Fry the meatballs, turning them to brown them on all sides and to thoroughly cook them. They are often served with mustard, and fried or grilled peppers are sometimes served on the side.   

* For my recipe for Turkish meatballs, here is the link:  http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2017/01/turkish-meatballs-yogurt-sauce-kofte.html

I had my chiftele with mustard and fried peppers

WORD HISTORY:
Crumb-This word goes back to Indo European "ger," which had the notion, "to bend, to turn, to wind" (long "i"). This then produced "grumho," with the meaning, "that which is scraped up or scratched up together" ("perhaps" from the idea of "bent fingers or tools used to scratch or scrape?"). This gave Old Germanic "krumon," meaning, "things scraped or scratched up," especially in reference to "soil," then to "bread." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "cruma," which meant, fragment, crumb, piece." This then became "crumme," before the insertion of the ending "b," in the 1500s, which likely was pronounced in those times. The other Germanic languages have: German "Krume" (also the diminutive, "Krümel"), Low German Saxon "Kroom" (also the diminutive, "Krömel"), Dutch "kruim" (also the diminutive, "kruimel"), Danish "krumme," Swedish has the compound, "inkråm," which means, "the inside ('the crumb') of a loaf of bread;" thus also the figurative, "giblets, guts." I did not find verifiable forms in Frisian or in Icelandic.