Arabic Meatloaf With Potatoes (Kiftet Batatta) Recipe (2024)

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Kifta is a staple meatloaf mixture that forms the basis for many Arabic main dishes, raw and cooked. This meatloaf, kiftet batatta (meatloaf with potatoes), is topped with potatoes for an easy main dish and features spring parsley. I serve it with a seasonal salad. Enjoy!

4.25 from 4 votes

Kiftet Batatta (Arabic Meatloaf with Potatoes)

Kifta is a staple meatloaf mixture that forms the basis for many Arabic main dishes, raw and cooked.

CourseMain

Servings 6 people

Author Wardee Harmon

Ingredients

3medium to medium-largepotatoespeeled and boiled, then sliced into 3/8” slices
2poundsground lambor ground beef
1oniondiced finely
1cupfresh parsley finely chopped (or 1/3 cup dried)
1teaspoonsea salt
1/4teaspoonground black pepper
1 28-ounce can or jartomato sauce
sea salt additional, to taste
ground black pepperadditional, to taste
parsleyadditional, to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Combine ground lamb or beef, onions, parsley, salt and pepper and mix well.
Press into deep square baking dish.
Top with sliced potatoes.
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To the tomatoes, add a pinch each of salt, pepper and fresh or dried parsley.
Mix.
Pour (most or all) over potatoes and lamb mixture.
Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until lamb is cooked.
Remove from oven.
Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

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Arabic Meatloaf With Potatoes (Kiftet Batatta) Recipe (7)

About Wardee Harmon

Wardee lives in the Boise area of Idaho with her dear family. She's the lead teacher and founder of the Eat God's Way online cooking program as well as the author of Fermenting, Sourdough A to Z, and other traditional cooking books. Eat God's Way helps families get healthier and happier using cooking methods and ingredients from Bible Times like sourdough, culturing, and ancient grains.

Reader Interactions

Comments

Evie says
May 27, 2011 at 12:55 pm

Hey that’s really smart!! I never thought of putting potatoes in meatloaf! I’m trying that tonight. Thanks!
Reply
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Belinda says
May 27, 2011 at 1:40 pm

I bet this tastes out of this world! Such a wonderful supper!
Reply
christin says
May 27, 2011 at 4:07 pm

Yum! We are trying this tonight. We have tons of spices…are there any Arabic spices we can add? Thanks!
Reply
- Wardee says
  May 27, 2011 at 4:21 pm
  
  christin — You could add cinnamon, that would be traditional. Just to taste!
  Reply
Brandi says
May 28, 2011 at 4:52 pm

I did make this the other night, and it is great. I added a minced clove of garlic to the meat mixture. (We love garlic.) This might be a good recipe to try in the crock pot this summer when it’s too hot for the oven.
Reply
- Wardee says
  May 29, 2011 at 5:29 pm
  
  Brandi — Yes, garlic! And sometimes I add a pinch more mint to the meat mixture. I love mint with ground meat. Good idea to try the crockpot!
  Reply
Maria says
May 29, 2011 at 10:06 am

I tried this recipe last night and it didn’t come out so great. There was a large amount of liquid that came out and we ended up with a wet, boiled the meat dish. I’m wondering what I did wrong. Here are some thoughts:
1. We used not completely grass fed beef from whole foods. Maybe the meat was processed with water.
2. We used Muir Glen fire roasted whole tomatoes and pureed them. by the way I used to like this flavor but it just tasted burt and bitter.
3. My oven isn’t hot enough?
This was my first recipe trial on your site but I won’t give up yet. I’m so excited about your courses and want to try out some more recipes first.
Thanks,
Maria Sireci
[emailprotected]
Reply
- Wardee says
  May 29, 2011 at 5:26 pm
  
  Maria — I’m sorry! You know, because of the tomatoes (not just yours) it does tend toward the watery side. What I’d suggest is adding some sprouted flour or sourdough breadcrumbs to the meat mixture. They’ll absorb some of that moisture and give you more of the typical meatloaf texture. Thanks for letting me know!
  Reply
christin says
May 29, 2011 at 7:22 pm

I made a huge double batch. I added like 4 cloves of garlic, nutmeg, cumin, allspice, parsley, salt and pepper mixed in grass fed beef.
I added some onion in it as well as sliced onions over the tomatoes. I mashed sweet potatoes with butter and mixed in eggs to keep in together, then I spread that on the meat. I then added the tomatoes paste(Bio-Nature) instead of sauce and then onion slices. I was perfect with no water. Thanks!!! It’s nice to get a different flavor out of ingredients we use often.
Reply
Elizabeth says
September 9, 2011 at 10:21 am

This reminds me of my mother’s “Washday Casserole,” a dish that she learned from HER mother. It was a casserole dish filled with layers of sliced potatoes, onions, browned ground beef, and canned tomatoes or tomato sauce, baked until the potatoes and onions were tender.
Reply
- Wardee says
  September 9, 2011 at 2:44 pm
  
  Elizabeth — That sounds so good! MM…
  Reply
Pamela says
October 14, 2011 at 12:14 pm

Hi, Wardee! I’m looking forward to trying this recipe but have a question first – is it necessary to boil the potatoes first? Won’t they cook in the oven along with everything else? I just hate the idea of cooking the potatoes twice, as I think it could deplete them of nutrients. Would appreciate your thoughts. Thanks!
Reply
- Wardee says
  October 16, 2011 at 9:23 pm
  
  Hi, Pamela! It isn’t necessary to boil first, but it does help and here’s why. The potatoes take much longer to cook than the hamburger, which makes the hamburger overcooked. Yet it is a matter of taste, so go ahead and bake longer if you want to avoid the boiling step.
  Reply
  - Pamela says
    October 16, 2011 at 9:40 pm
    
    Thanks for the explanation!
    Reply
Jennie Alice Lillard says
September 26, 2012 at 6:55 pm

The rest of the family is iffy about the Arabic Meatloaf, but I’m excited–it’s in the oven right now. I used a beautiful (and potent!) onion from the farmer’s market. I wish my sourdough bread were ready to serve with it, but I got that started too late today–maybe with leftovers tomorrow night.
Thanks so much for the recipe.
Reply

Arabic Meatloaf With Potatoes (Kiftet Batatta) Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What ingredient keeps meatloaf from falling apart? ›

In meatloaf, this is most commonly the eggs and breadcrumbs. Your binding ingredient is only second to the meat itself in your recipe and the reason why meatloaf crumbles. When this happens, it's because you didn't use enough. Next time, try adding in an extra egg and/or some more breadcrumbs.

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Milk and other dairy products, like heavy cream and buttermilk, contain both water and fat, adding two types of moisture to our meatloaf. There's a long-held theory that milk can tenderize ground meat, and this is the reason often cited for cooking ground meat in milk to make a Bolognese-style ragù.

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The Basic Meatloaf Formula

All recipes for meatloaf start with the same basic formula: 2 pounds of ground meat and a “panade” made of bread or crackers soaked in milk. Along with a few eggs, this panade helps to hold the ground meat together and adds some essential moisture to the mix.

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Eggs bind the mixture, add flavor and increase browning, but too much egg will make a meat loaf tough and rubbery. Use about one egg per pound of meat. If using pork sausage, skip the egg. Milk adds flavor and moisture and helps distribute the seasoning throughout the mass.

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The most traditional meatloaf binder is probably torn up bread soaked in milk, but you can also use bread crumbs, Panko, dehydrated potato (instant mashed potatoes), or just about any other grain.

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