Grilled Lamb Kofta (Izgara Kofte in Turkish) is one of the most popular street food in Turkey made with minced lamb and aromatic spices. These extremely delicious and juicy lamb kofta kebabs are traditionally cooked over charcoal but you can cook them on a gas BBQ, on the stove, or even in the oven grill.
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What is Kofta?
Kofta is a Middle Eastern dish made with minced lamb or/and beef, flavored with exotic spices, eggs, and fresh herbs. They can be shaped in patties (Patlican Kebabi - Eggplant Kebab), balls (Sulu Köfte - Turkish Meatball Soup), sausage-shaped (Izmir Kofte - Smyrna Meatballs), or on skewers (Adana Kebap - Adana Kofte).
Although technically koftas are "meatballs", some Turkish kofta recipes don't contain any meat such as Courgette Fritters (Mucver) Recipe, Fellah Koftesi, and Mercimek Kofte (Vegan Lentil Balls).
Kofta dishes are very popular in Turkey and there are around 300 different types of kofte recipes. They are more widely consumed than any other dish, and there are many regional variations that date back hundreds of years.
Why This Recipe Works?
- Grilled Lamb Kofta is easy to prepare with step-by-step instructions and pictures, a perfect weekday meal with minimum preparation.
- You can make them ahead and keep them refrigerated for up to 3 days or freeze them for up to 3 months. Perfect dish for busy weekday meals or big gatherings!
- Most of the ingredients for making Lamb Koftas are possibly already in your pantry or fridge.
Ingredients and Substitutes
- Lamb mince - The main ingredient for kofte is minced lamb (ground lamb); its fat content is as important as the quality of the meat. Ideally, it should have %20 fat for soft and delicious koftes. Using lean minced meat will make them dry and tough.
- Onion - It adds extra flavor and moisture to the koftas. I prefer grating it into the mixture. You can finely chop and sauté them if you prefer. You can substitute it with two banana shallots.
- Garlic - It is another great flavoring for kofte dishes and is absolutely essential. You can turn it into a paste with a mortar and pestle or grate it with a Microplane. You can substitute the fresh garlic with the garlic powder.
- Egg - It helps to bind the meat, breadcrumbs, spices, and herbs. For up to one kilo of meat, you usually won't need more than one egg.
- Kofta Spices - Most recipes call for a blend of coriander powder, black pepper, and paprika (or chili) but you can also add cumin, cayenne pepper, or a touch of cinnamon.
- Bread crumbs - They absorb the juices from the meat as it cooks, trapping them within the meatball. Also, they give meatballs a nice soft texture.
- Parsley - Great tasting herb to add to the Kofte mixture. Use flat-leaf or curly parsley leaves for the best results. You can substitute it with thyme or oregano.
How to Make the Best Lamb Koftas?
Making this delicious kofta dish is very simple and straightforward. However, to achieve the best results you need to follow a few tips and simple steps:
Prepare The Yoghurt Dressing
Turn the garlic into a paste using a pestle and mortar or grate it using a Microplane. Place the yoghurt in a bowl and add the garlic paste along with the dried mint and mix well. Set aside and keep refrigerated until you need it.
Prepare The Lamb Koftas
If cooking the koftas on a BBQ, preheat your BBQ to medium-high.
For cooking the koftas on an oven grill, preheat it to medium-high.
Or, if you want to cook the koftas on a skillet, preheat it over medium-high heat.
To prepare the kofte mixture, place the minced lamb, grated onion, parsley, garlic, egg, breadcrumbs, salt, and spices in a large bowl.
Mix well for at least 5 minutes or until it has a nice and soft texture slightly sticking to your hand.
Shape them into 10-12 equally sized patties using the palm of your hands. Wet your palm with a bit of water to avoid the meatballs sticking to your hand.
Cook the koftas on BBQ for 6 to 8 minutes, until all sides are nicely browned. It would take 10 to 12 minutes in oven-grill and 5 to 7 minutes on the skillet to cook the koftas.
Serve them immediately on a bed of Turkish Rice (Sehriyeli Pilav) or Greek Pita Bread with a dollop of yogurt dressing.
How to Serve Lamb Koftas?
There are many ways to enjoy this juicy Lamb Koftas:
You can have them with flatbread such as Turkish Pide Bread - Ramazan Pidesi, Bazlama (Turkish Flatbread), or Garlic Naan - Indian Flatbread.
Or serve them with pilaf dishes such as Bulgur Pilavi (Turkish Bulgur Rice Pilaf), Turkish Rice (Sehriyeli Pilav), or Turkish Bulgur Pilaf with Lentils.
Don't forget to add some refreshing side dishes to go with your spicy Lamb Koftas such as Indian Chickpea Salad - Chana Salad, Greek Cucumber Salad, Cacik (Turkish Yoghurt With Cucumbers), or Tomato and Walnut Salad (Gavurdagi Salatasi).
Top Tips From The Chef
- The lamb mince should have %20 fat for soft and delicious koftas. Using lean minced meat will make them dry and tough.
- Let your kofte mixture rest for a minimum of 2 hours, ideally overnight for the flavors to meld.
- Use your hands to mix up the meat, herbs, and spices to make sure everything is mixed well.
- You can shape the lamb kofta on skewers and serve them as lamb kofte kebabs for your BBQ parties.
- For meal prep, you can store the kofta mixture refrigerated in an airtight container for a couple of days.
Recipe FAQs
The Lamb Kofta mixture is perfect for freezing. Place the mixture in the freezer in an airtight container where you can keep them for up to three months. Simply defrost them overnight in the fridge when you need them.
Although it is very difficult to tell what country this delicious meat dish originated from, the first kofte recipe is found in an Arabic cookbook. Kofte is widely cooked in Middle Eastern, Balkan, Central Asian, and North African countries.
Yes, you can make kofte mixture a couple of days in advance and keep them refrigerated in an airtight container until you need them.
Related Recipes
For more delicious Turkish street food recipes why not try:
Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.
I hope you enjoy the process of making these soft, juicy, and spicy grilled Lamb Koftas as much as you enjoy eating them! 🙂
Bon appétit! / Afiyet olsun!
Grilled Lamb Kofta - Izgara Kofte
Equipment
- 1 grater
Ingredients
For the Yoghurt Dressing
- 1 cup Natural yoghurt
- 1 clove garlic
- ½ teaspoon dried mint
For the Lamb Koftas
- 500 g minced lamb (minimum of 20% fat content)
- 1 large onion (grated)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 medium egg
- 30 g breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon flaked chilli (pul biber)
- ½ teaspoon coriander powder
- 2 tablespoon chopped parsley
Instructions
Preparing the Yoghurt Dressing
- Turn the garlic into a paste using a pestle and mortar or grate it using a Microplane.
- Place the yogurt in a bowl and add the garlic paste.
- Add the dried mint and mix well. Set aside and keep refrigerated until you need it.
Preparing the Lamb Koftas
- If cooking the koftas on a BBQ, preheat your BBQ to medium-high, if cooking them in the oven-grill, preheat the oven grill to medium-high, or if using a skillet, preheat your skillet over medium-high heat.
- To prepare the kofte mixture, put all kofte ingredients in a large bowl and then mix well for at least 5 minutes or until it has a nice and soft texture slightly sticking to your hand.
- Shape them into 10-12 equally sized patties using the palm of your hands. Wet your palm with a bit of water to avoid the meatballs sticking to your hand.
- Cook the koftas on BBQ for 6 to 8 minutes, until all sides are nicely browned.It would take 10 to 12 minutes in oven-grill and 5 to 7 minutes on the skillet to cook the koftas.
- Serve them immediately on a bed of Turkish Rice Pilaf or Homemade Pita Bread with a dollop of yogurt dressing.
Notes
- The lamb mince should have %20 fat for soft and delicious koftas. Using lean minced meat will make them dry and tough.
- Let your kofte mixture rest for a minimum of 2 hours, ideally overnight for the flavors to meld.
- Use your hands to mix up the meat, herbs, and spices to make sure everything is mixed well.
- You can shape the lamb kofta on skewers and serve them as lamb kofte kebabs for your BBQ parties.
- For meal prep, you can store the kofta mixture refrigerated in an airtight container for a couple of days.
Nutrition
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Sabeen
This koftas are delicious. Will definitely make them again.
Rick
Amazing recipe! They look (and sound) very healthy, on my list to "explore" this weekend.
Jacqui
Tastes amazing! Family favourite
Ayla Clulee
Thank you, Jacqui!
Fiona
Mixed all the ingredients, refrigerated overnight, and grilled them the next day on the BBQ. They were very easy to shape and grill and tasted fantastic. Will definitely make again. Thanks!
Pam
Fantastic koftas. Made them the day before and that worked well too. Would definitely make again.