My family loves this smoothie, and it’s quick and simple to make. Another option is to cook yams from a large can rather than from fresh ones.
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 10 mins |
| Additional Time: | 1 hr 30 mins |
| Total Time: | 2 hrs 10 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons Aleppo chile flakes
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground sumac (Optional)
- 1 pound ground lamb
- 2 tablespoons cold water
- 8 bamboo skewers
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup water, or as needed
Instructions
- Make the spice blend: Combine cumin, coriander, chile flakes, salt, cayenne, and cinnamon in a small bowl; mix well to combine. Set about 1/3 of the spice blend aside in a small bowl and mix with sumac.
- Make the kabobs: Place remaining spice blend in a mixing bowl with ground lamb and cold water. Mix by hand until thoroughly combined. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Place bamboo skewers in water to soak while the meat is chilling.
- Remove meat from the refrigerator and roll into eight equal-sized meatballs using slightly damp hands. Skewer each meatball through the center and shape into an oval, about 3 inches long. Use your fingers to taper each end of the kabob down to a point where it meets the skewer. Place onto a plate and refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes, or until ready to grill.
- Make the yogurt sauce: Whisk Greek yogurt, garlic, parsley, lemon juice, and 1/4 cup water together in a bowl until smooth and combined. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Preheat an outdoor charcoal grill to medium-high heat.
- Remove kabobs from the refrigerator and sprinkle reserved spice blend over top.
- Grill kabobs over charcoal, turning occasionally, until browned and firm, 10 to 12 minutes total. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of a kabob should read at least 135 degrees F (57 degrees C). Serve with yogurt sauce.
- You can substitute 1 teaspoon paprika plus 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes for the Aleppo flakes, and 1 teaspoon fine salt for the kosher salt.
- You can use ground beef instead of lamb or a combination of both, which is very nice. You can skip chilling the kabobs in the refrigerator once shaped.
- You can use metal skewers instead of bamboo if you like. While any kind of grill will work, a narrow, hibachi-style grill is perfect for skewered meat.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 301 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 5 g |
| Cholesterol | 87 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 23 g |
| Saturated Fat | 9 g |
| Sodium | 820 mg |
| Sugars | 2 g |
| Fat | 21 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Excellent!!! This is the second time I have made this. My husband is not a if fan of lamb but I am. He loved this both times. I made it exactly according to recipe. Give it a try. Really good. The only problem I have is keeping it on the stick so I just made it into right patties.
I made this almost exactly as printed, except 3 times I forgot to reserve half the spice mixture and dumped it all in. It was wonderful all 3 times. I added the water which seemed strange, but I would not change one thing. The flavors of the sumac and spices was perfect and texture, perhaps aided by the addition of water, was firm but juicy and grilled easily . This one is on permanent rotation for make ahead weekend grilling – a nice summer switch from burgers.
If there is any 0 star Thn I could choose that.Taste is sooo bad and they said basmati rice but that’s not. Those are big rice.I didn’t get any type of sauce but I ordered for 2 type or sauce.they send me wrong order.Overall their rating is 0.I’ll say everyone don’t waste your money guys.
Very easy and tastes great! Used Grass-fed beef. We didn’t have the sumac or Aleppo so I used the substitute in the recipe and it was very good. I served it inside French baguette slices….yum!
I love lamb, but struggle with the flavor when I make it. I found this recipe to be very simple to make, but the flavor was delicious.
This is a fantastic way to serve lamb! A big hit with the tomatoes and onions. I cheated and bought Greek Tzaziki sauce from a local deli.
These are outstanding! We served these with pita bread & a Greek salad. Delicious!
This is a FABULOUS recipe. I served it with sautéed vegetables and pita bread. YUMMY!!!
I didn’t have the sumac or aleppo peppers, so instead I put in 1 tsp smoked paprika and a hearty pinch of red pepper flakes. These were really good! Thank you Chef John, this recipe is a life-saver! I found 30 lbs of ground lamb hiding in the bottom of my freezer and now I know what to do with it! We made them into patties because I don’t like making meatballs, and served on pita bread
We are huge Chef John fans and we were not disappointed with this one! We had to follow the spice substitutions as our local markets in BFE Georgia are lacking. Very flavorful and delicious! We served this with a homemade sourdough naan bread, hummus, assorted olives, feta, and an onion, cucumber, tomato salad with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. We all ate until we thought we would burst especially the kids!
I made these the other day and the family LOVED them. I used all ground beef since I am not a fan of lamb. They were delicious. I followed the recipe exactly except I subbed crushed red pepper flakes for the Aleppo chile flakes because I could not find them in my store. I will definitely make again!!
Excellent Recipe! Having lived in Turkey for many years, this fullfills my cravings for Turkish kofte. When grilling outside on BBQ, I substitute 1/4 of yogurt with lamb tallow.
Being married to an Albanian girl, I’ve eaten a lot of kofta in my day. But this has got to be one of the top two kofta recipes I have had…and since the other is a secret…the only one I can now personally make at home. Thanks Bob & Chef John for bringing this one to us. I pared the Kofta with Briam (Baked Zucchini and Potatoes – search recipe on this website) and the combo made a perfect Mediterranean meal. BTW…if you can’t find the Sumac or Aleppo Pepper in your local store, both are available online. They do make a difference and are worth the effort. Enjoy!
I made this as close as I could to the recipe; I couldn’t find Aleppo chili flakes or sumac at my local store, so I’ll have to try it again when I find them. I had a larger group to feed, so I used two pounds of lamb and one of ground pork, which worked out really well. I think the flavoring was just about perfect with a nice crust on the outside and plenty of juicy texture inside. I’ll definitely be coming back to these kabobs and I’d like to try a few different sauces to accompany them as well. The sauce here was a very simple one, and quite tasty, but I’d like to see how this pairs with a tzatziki or aioli. Great recipe as usual, Chef (and Bob)! I just wish I had taken some pictures before we devoured it all.
I doubled the recipe for my family and did not have the time to refrigerate as recommended prior to grilling. It still came out great my family loved it!
I substituted ancho chile pepper spice for the apello chile flakes since that is hard to find around here and it turned out awesome.
I couldn’t find sumac at my local shop but it was still SUPER tasty. I made a Greek side salad and the whole meal was so delicious. This recipe is going into rotation for the summer!