Grilled Lamb Kofta - Izgara Kofte

5 from 7 votes

Grilled Lamb Kofta (Izgara Kofte in Turkish) is one of the most popular street food in Turkey made with minced lamb and aromatic spices.

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Total Time25

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Turkish

Diet: Low Lactose

Servings: people

Calories: 470kcal

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.

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.

The ground lamb should have %20 fat for soft and delicious koftas. Using lean meat will make it 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.