There beer name with country many national and regional variations. There are also vegetable and uncooked versions.

Shapes vary and include balls, patties, and cylinders. Sizes typically vary from that of a golf ball to that of an orange. The first appearance of recipes for kofta are in the earliest Arab cookbooks. The earliest recipes are for large ground lamb meatballs triple-glazed in a mixture of saffron and egg yolk.

Koftas are found from the Indian subcontinent through Central Asia, the Middle East, the Balkans, and northern Africa. Generally meat is mixed with spices and often other ingredients such as rice, bulgur, vegetables, or eggs to form a paste. They can be grilled, fried, steamed, poached, baked, or marinated, and may be served with a rich spicy sauce or in a soup or stew. Kofta curry, having meat or vegetable balls in a curry sauce.

Koofteh berenji, koofteh hamedani, koofteh nar, koofteh tabrizi and koofteh shirin-e kermanshahi, Iranian variants. Notes on the Races, Castes and Trades of Eastern Bengal. Where to Find the Best Meatballs in Los Angeles”. A culinary conflict in the South Caucasus”.