Koftet el gambari (shrimp kofta)
A coastal Egyptian classic that rarely makes it onto English-language menus: raw shrimp blended with garlic, onion, and warming spices, bound with ground rice, shaped into small croquettes, fried until golden, then simmered briefly in a light tomato sauce. Known at home as koftet el gambari (shrimp kofta), it's especially associated with the Mediterranean coast around Port Said and Damietta, where shrimp and rice are both everyday staples. Served simply, with sliced tomato and lettuce alongside.
Ingredients
Instructions
In a large bowl, combine the shrimp, cumin, rice flour, water, egg white, parsley, garlic, and onion. Season with pepper, cayenne, and salt.
Mix thoroughly by hand until the mixture comes together into a cohesive, slightly sticky paste.
Shape into balls about the size of a walnut (roughly 1½ tablespoons each). You should get 20 to 22 kofta.
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, fry the kofta in batches of 5 to 6, turning as needed, until golden all over, about 3 to 4 minutes per batch. Drain on paper towels.
Warm the tomato sauce in a wide pan or shallow clay pot over medium heat. Add about half the fried kofta and simmer for a few minutes to heat through and pick up the sauce.
Arrange the sauced kofta and the remaining plain fried kofta together on a serving plate, or bring the pot straight to the table.
Serve hot.
Notes
Use the freshest shrimp you can find — the mixture is essentially raw shrimp paste, so quality shows. If the mixture feels too wet to shape, chill it in the refrigerator for 15 minutes before forming the kofta; this firms it up considerably. A food processor makes quick work of step 1 if you prefer a finer, more uniform texture, closer to how it's often made in Egyptian kitchens today (sometimes with mashed potato standing in for the rice flour).
Variations
Some home versions swap mashed potato for the ground rice as the binder, which gives a softer, slightly creamier kofta. A pinch of ground coriander or a squeeze of lemon juice in the mixture is also common. For a spicier version, work a spoonful of harissa into the tomato sauce rather than relying on cayenne alone.
Shrimp kofta is a staple of home cooking along Egypt's Mediterranean coast, particularly in and around Port Said and Damietta, where fresh shrimp and rice are both close at hand. It's a variation on the broader kofta tradition — spiced ground meat or seafood formed into balls or logs and cooked in sauce — reimagined with seafood instead of the more familiar beef or lamb. It's typically served as a light main course or a substantial starter, with little more than bread, rice, or a simple salad alongside.