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]
