Ground lamb is used to make these kofta kebabs, which are then shaped onto skewers and roasted on the grill while being spiced with six different types of herbs and spices. They are excellent!
| Prep Time: | 45 mins |
| Cook Time: | 5 mins |
| Additional Time: | 30 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 20 mins |
| Servings: | 28 |
| Yield: | 28 skewers |
Ingredients
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 pound ground lamb
- 3 tablespoons grated onion
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 28 bamboo skewers, soaked in water for 30 minutes
Instructions
- Mash garlic into a paste with salt using a mortar and pestle or the flat side of a chef’s knife on your cutting board.
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- Mix garlic into lamb with onion, parsley, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, allspice, cayenne pepper, ginger, and pepper in a mixing bowl until well blended.
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- Form mixture into 28 balls. Form each ball around the tip of a skewer, flattening it into a 2-inch oval; repeat with remaining skewers. Place kebabs onto a baking sheet, cover, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 12 hours.
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- Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat and lightly oil the grate.
- Cook skewers on the preheated grill, turning occasionally, until browned and cooked through, about 5 to 6 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of a kebab should read at least 145 degrees F (63 degrees C).
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- Serve hot and enjoy!
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- The most affordable way to purchase the spices is in bulk at either a health food store or an Asian or Middle-Eastern market.
- Serve with yogurt, flatbread, lettuce, tomato, and cucumber.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 35 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 1 g |
| Cholesterol | 11 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 0 g |
| Protein | 3 g |
| Saturated Fat | 1 g |
| Sodium | 78 mg |
| Sugars | 0 g |
| Fat | 2 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
This is a fabulous recipe. I did use beef – can’t afford lamb here, it’s way too expensive. But the beef was fresh. Also didn’t get a chance to grill – went poof on me – so i called a middle eastern friend for baked direction: preheat over to 500, and place koftas (on skewers or not – i left mine on, as they were metal) and bake for about 15-20min. The high heat gives it a fake sear, but they are still really very good. I had mine with some lovely potatoes on garlic naans. Fabulous, and I’m definitely making again now that my grill is back up and running!
I made this with ground beef – excellent! next, I will try half beef/glamb
Made this recipe ground beef and I loved it!
We love this recipe. We make it at least once a month. It’s perfect with pita, hummus, tzatziki, sliced tomatoes and red onions. Do let the meat and spices meld for a couple hours for best results. I’ve only made them with ground them and followed the recipe for all measurements. When trying to make it quick we just make them into balls and bake them. They turn out delicious that way too.
I found this recipe to be edible but very bland. I used the full amount of spices, and they were all fresh.
This was pretty close to Shawarma King on Beacon St in Brookline. Which is saying a lot. I didn’t have time to make the paste so I just dumped the minced garlic and salt into the meat mixture and mashed it all together. Made a tahini and yogurt sauce to dress it with and made wraps with pita bread. I was also too much in a hurry – because rugby was coming on – to choo fresh parsley so I used dried parsley from the Indian market down the street. Nevertheless, this was absolutely delicious and I whipped the whole meal up in like 20 minutes… and ate almost the entire pound of ground beef mixture by myself in one sitting.
This recipe was delicious! I did cut back the cinnamon to 1 tsp. Instead of grilling I broiled them just as small 2″ patties for 5-6 minutes on top of a broiler pan Excellent with tzaziki and warmed naan bread!
Great recipe! Turned out better than I’ve ever ordered and so simple! My guests were impressed!!!
I overcooked the first batch I made but the flavor was still amazing. I’ve never cooked lamb before and this was really straightforward.
This was delicious…ALMOST like a favorite local Lebanese restaurant. I used 1 TB of Kafta Seasoning instead of this seasoning. Fresh parsley and grated onion was important. Shaped them long and used mix of ground chicken and beef. They did shrink a bit, so make them longer if using on a bun or something.
Made this recipe multiple times. I’ve made it all beef and all lamb and find them both really tasty! I don’t use nearly as much cinnamon! I do go heavier on onion tho. Easy to make, I serve it with fresh chopped onion, lettuce, tomato, pita bread a sour cream.
Delicious! I have made a few different versions of Kofta and this is the best by far. Even my Jordanian aunt would approve, I’m sure. I also made the garlic sauce recommended by another reviewer and it provided the perfect finishing touch.
Fantastic melded flavors. I used Ground turkey- still delicious !
Excellent recipe, great balance on the spices. I did make two small changes. 1. Used 1 lb of veal instead of lamb, because that’s what we had in the freezer 2. Divided meat into 12 pieces and doubled them up on the skewers (so, used 6 skewers) Served with homemade flatbread, and it was an amazing meal.
Absolutely delicious!! I wouldn’t change a thing about this recipe. I used ground beef this time and will try ground turkey next time.
This is delicious! So easy to make and dynamite flavor. My GF thanks you a thousand times!
This has become a favorite in my household. I have travelled a lot internationally, and this is the closest recipe that I’ve seen to when I was in India. It is NOT nearly as spicy as what I have had in India but still the quality is good. I frequently shape this into patties and it can even be eaten as a burger. At some point, I will try with crushed Coriander instead of powdered.
Great for appetizers, but, since we had some hot dog buns left, we made in the form of sausages, and topped with Tzatsiki sauce.
wonderful recipe. I spent a month touring Turkey a few years ago and fell in love with the food. took me right back there.
I made this on my grill last night and they turned out awesome! I was only able to get about 20 skewers because I guess I put a little more on each than the original recipe poster. When I started dropping the spices in the pound of lamb it was looking like too much, but it really turned out great! Everyone that came over loved them and they disappeared quickly. Next time I’ll double the recipe just to make sure I have plenty for everyone!
Overall, fairly good but way to much coriander for me. I am someone who loves cilantro but for the first time in my life I understood when people say they taste soap when they eat it (coriander is the seed of cilantro). If I didn’t taste “soap” upon eating this I think I would have really enjoyed it. That’s the only reason I didn’t give it a higher star rating. Served it with saffron rice and a quick tomato cucumber salad.