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Eastern European tableRice & sour cream

One dish · slow bake

Baked tefteli in tomato–sour cream sauce

Rice-studded meatballs baked under a mellow tomato–sour cream sauce, with carrot, celeriac, and a final veil of cheese.

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Three rice meatballs on a patterned plate in a creamy orange tomato sauce.
Tefteli are built for sauce: rice softens the center while the tomato and dairy settle around every curve.Photo by Kagor · GFDL 1.2
4.92reader rating
Prep
10 min
Bake
1 hr
Total
1 hr 10 min
Serves
2 servings

Tefteli are meatballs with a softer rhythm. Rice breaks up the richness, a little cooked root vegetable can disappear into the center, and the whole dish spends its time in a brick-orange sauce rather than chasing a hard crust. It is a supper designed for spooning over mashed potatoes, buckwheat, or whatever will catch the sauce.

“A recipe for delicious oven-baked meatballs in a sauce made from sour cream and tomato paste.”

Rice in the center

Cooked rice opens the texture of the meat mixture and gives tefteli their soft, homestyle character.

A flour-thin coat

A light dusting helps the outside hold together; shake off excess so the sauce stays smooth.

Sauce as a blanket

Tomato paste gives depth, sour cream rounds the edges, and a loose foil cover guards against evaporation.

Taste compassSoft, tangy, savory

Creamy

78%

Sour cream softens the concentration of tomato paste without hiding it.

Savory

88%

Meat, broth, optional root vegetables, and the cheese finish build the long bass note.

Tomato

64%

A single spoonful of paste gives color and depth rather than a sharp red-sauce profile.

Earthy

48%

Cooked carrot and celeriac are optional, but they make the filling taste rounder and more rooted.

Cook roadmap70 minutes

One saucepan, one bowl, one slow-baking dish

Cook the rice first, mix lightly, then let the sauce and oven finish the work together.

  1. 0:00

    Heat and simmer

    Bring the oven to 200°C while the rice cooks; cool the grains slightly before they meet the meat.

  2. 0:10

    Mix without packing

    Fold in the egg, rice, and optional vegetables just until the mixture looks even.

  3. 0:16

    Roll and dust

    Shape round meatballs, give them a light flour coat, and settle them into the oiled dish.

  4. 0:22

    Pour the pale-red sauce

    Whisk sour cream, tomato paste, and water or broth, then pour it around and over the meatballs.

  5. 1:10

    Check, cheese, serve

    Verify the center temperature, add the grated cheese, and let the residual heat soften it.

Visual notesRice, roots, sauce

The tender architecture of tefteli

A plate of pale meatballs flecked with rice and garnished with parsley.
Cooked rice gives the meatballs their unmistakably tender, slightly open crumb.Photo by Tatyana Morozyuk; color processing by Off-shell · CC BY-SA 3.0
Kitchen truth

A loose meatball and a generous sauce are partners: the rice wants moisture, and the sauce wants time.

Seasoned ground-meat mixture gathered in a large mixing bowl.
Bring the mixture together gently; compacting it too firmly makes a denser meatball.Photo by Håkan Dahlström · CC BY 2.0
A small whole celeriac root beside a chef’s knife on a wooden board.
Celeriac is optional in the source recipe, but even a little adds an earthy, savory undertone.Photo by Leslie Seaton · CC BY 2.0

Ingredient editGrain, dairy, root

Three ingredients set the texture

The recipe’s character comes from what is folded into the meat and what surrounds it in the oven.

01

Cooked rice

The grain is part of the meatball, not the side: it stretches the mixture and keeps the center tender.

Drain well and cool briefly so excess steam does not loosen the mix.
02

Sour cream + tomato

This two-part sauce lands between tangy dairy gravy and tomato braise.

Whisk the paste into the sour cream first, then add liquid for a smoother sauce.
03

Celeriac

An optional, earthy vegetable note folded directly into the meatball mixture.

Use it cooked and finely chopped so it disappears into the filling.

Baked tefteli with rice and tomato–sour cream sauce

Tender meatballs enriched with rice and optional cooked root vegetables, baked in a mild tomato–sour cream sauce and finished with grated cheese.

TefteliMeatballsRiceSour CreamTomato SauceOven Baked

Ingredients

Tefteli

  • 600 grams ground meat
  • 1/2 cup rice
  • 1/2 carrot, cooked and finely chopped, optional
  • 1 small celeriac root, cooked and finely chopped, optional
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, for coating
  • 1 tablespoon sunflower oil, for the dish
  • Salt and black pepper, to taste

Tomato–sour cream sauce

  • 100 grams sour cream
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 200 milliliters water or broth
  • 30 grams cheese, finely grated

Directions

  1. Heat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Lightly oil a baking dish with the sunflower oil.
  2. Cook the rice in a small saucepan until tender, then drain it well and let it cool slightly.
  3. If using the cooked carrot and celeriac, chop them very finely.
  4. Combine the ground meat, rice, vegetables, and egg. Season with salt and black pepper, then mix only until evenly distributed.
  5. Shape the mixture into round meatballs and roll each one lightly in flour. Arrange them in the prepared baking dish.
  6. Whisk the sour cream and tomato paste together, then loosen the mixture with 200 milliliters water or broth. Pour the sauce over the meatballs.
  7. Cover the dish with foil if your oven runs dry or the sauce begins evaporating quickly. Bake for about 1 hour, until the meatballs are cooked through.
  8. Check the center of a meatball with an instant-read thermometer: ground beef, pork, lamb, or veal should reach 71°C (160°F); ground poultry should reach 74°C (165°F).
  9. Sprinkle the grated cheese over the hot meatballs and return the dish to the oven just long enough for the cheese to soften. Serve with the sauce and a simple side dish.

Image credits

Photography is used under open licenses with attribution: Kagor, Tatyana Morozyuk; color processing by Off-shell, Håkan Dahlström, and Leslie Seaton.