19 Minute Lamb Kofta

Kofta, kefta, or kofte all refer to a deliciously spiced meat mixture. There are countless cultural and regional variations in the middle east countries from Turkey to Lebanon to Egypt. We are not going to cover a specific variant but instead, I want to show you how I've been using the base technique to make new and exciting dishes in my cooking rotation in less than 20 minutes.

Meat Mixture

• 454 grams (1 lb) ground meat [Lamb, beef, chicken]

• 7 g salt (1.5% by meat weight)

• 1/4 onion, grated

• 1 clove garlic, grated

• Small handful parsley, minced

• Large spoonful spice mix (recipe below)

1. Mix, form, cook, enjoy.

Kefta Spice Mix

• 2 spoonfuls ground cumin

• 1 spoonful chile powder

• 1 spoonful paprika

• 1 spoonful oregano

• 1/4 spoonful ground cinnamon

Yogurt sauce

• Yogurt

• Lemon zest

• Lemon juice

• Garlic clove

• Salt to taste

• Black pepper

• Sumac

Serve with:

• Lavash

• Tomato

• Arugula (or lettuce)

• Pickled onion

• Feta