Serve these with store bought or homemade Flatbreads and a side of Pilaf or a spiced Middle Eastern Lentil Rice would be wonderfully on theme!
Turkish Lamb Kofta Kebabs
I was watching the latest Food Safari series called Fire the other night which showcases food from around the world cooked over charcoals and in wood fired ovens. I have neither a charcoal grill nor a wood fired pizza oven, but when I saw these Turkish lamb kofta kebabs, I knew straight away that these would be still be fabulous made on the stove or on an ordinary gas BBQ. I’m really fond of my Middle Eastern Kebabs, but they require more spices than these! So this easy recipe really appealed to me. They really did take 30 minutes to make, from start to finish.
A simple Turkish Spice Mix
The original lamb kofta kebab recipe is made using a combination of veal and lamb mince (ground meat) plus lamb fat. I don’t know about you, but I don’t even know where to get lamb fat here in Sydney! So to make this midweek, I made a few alterations. I kept the spice mix the same – super simple, just pepper, cumin and red pepper flakes. But I added extra flavour by adding onion and garlic to compensate for the absence of lamb fat. I know, I know, onion and garlic isn’t the same as lamb fat but they definitely do add extra flavour!!
The original lamb kofta kebab recipe calls for pistachio nuts too, which I included because I happened to have them in my pantry. Only because I visited a Middle Eastern grocery a few weeks before and got overly excited by how cheap the pistachios were! They definitely add an extra layer of flavour and richness into the lamb kofta kebabs. But these are worth making even if you don’t have pistachios. Truly. – Nagi x
Serve this Lamb Kofta Kebab with…
Yogurt Sauce (recipe below) Flatbreads (homemade or store bought), shredded lettuce, tomato and onion slices And/or a pilaf – these will go very well with these Koftas: Rice Pilaf with Dried Fruit and Nuts Curried Basmati Rice Middle Eastern Lentil Rice Pilaf (Mejadra – one of my personal favourites!) Chickpea Rice Pilaf
And another Turkish street food favourite – Gozleme!
Rice Pilaf with Dried Fruit and Nuts Curried Basmati Rice Middle Eastern Lentil Rice Pilaf (Mejadra – one of my personal favourites!) Chickpea Rice Pilaf
Life of Dozer
When yogurt got flung on his nose…
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