Kofta Kebabs

A couple weeks a go my wife and I tried a Mediterranean restaurant in the area called Troy. It was very good and had a nice sampling of various Mediterranean foods; kebabs, falafel, shawarma (Avengers has done more for the sales of shawarma in the US then any advertising), tabouli and baklava. One of the kebabs they served was a kofta kebab. It was odd looking but had great flavor. I figured it wouldn't be hard to make and I could grill it so I decided to give it a try.
I searched online for a recipe and found quite a few each with their own variation. Many of them call for ground lamb and beef which gives the meat another flavor level. I didn't have any lamb so I just used beef. They were still very yummy.

Here is the recipe I used.
1 lb. ground beef
Half an onion
Pinch or two of salt
Clove of garlic
1 tbls ground coriander
1 tbls ground cumin
1/2 tbls cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Skewers - if bamboo or wood soak in water for 30 minutes to keep them from burning

It also calls for fresh parsley but I left that out as I didn't have any at the time.

Dice or shred the onion, so it is very fine, into a bowl. Crush the garlic into the same bowl. Add your ground beef. If you have lamb you can do half beef, half lamb. Add your dry ingredients to the beef and mix it well so the onion, garlic and spices are spread evenly throughout the beef.

Take some of the meat and form a sausage shape around one of the skewers. If using a pound of beef I use about a 1/4 lb for each skewer.


Heat up your grill. Once it is ready to cook on put the skewers with the meat on and let them cook until they are done. It should only be about five minutes a side depending on how you like your meat done and the temperature of your grill.



The smell of the meat cooking is incredible. The spices bring an awesome middle eastern smell that makes your mouth water.



I served my kofta with rice. It is often served with tezziki sauce and
tabouli. After making these I had the brilliant idea of making a kofta burger. Mix up the meat the same way but make burgers with the tezziki sauce and tabouli all on a bun.

• What other foods do you like to grill or smoke? Things that are from other countries or just different then the norm?