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Turkish Lamb Kofta Kebabs
A simple, exotic, fragrant midweek meal. 30 minutes, start to finish. Adapted from a recipe by Effendi restaurant in Balmain, Sydney, as shown in the Food Safari "Fire" TV series. See notes for changes made to the original recipe.
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
30 mins
Servings: 4
Calories: 330 kcal
Course:
Side Dish , Main Course , Dinner
Cuisine:
Turkish
Ingredients
Kebabs
- 1 lb / 500g lamb mince (ground lamb) (or substitute with beef)
- 1 small onion , grated or minced using a food processor - about 1/4 cup (white, brown or yellow) (Note 1)
- 1 garlic clove , minced
- 1/4 cup pistachio nuts , ground (Optional. I use my food processor) (Note 2)
- 1 1/2 tsp salt (table salt, not flakes, use 2 1/2 tsp if using kosher or sea salt flakes)
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp cumin powder
- 1 tbsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Yoghurt Sauce
- 3/4 cup plain yoghurt (I use Greek)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 garlic clove , minced
- salt and pepper
To Serve
- Pita bread or lebanese flat bread , warmed
- Lettuce leaves of choice
- sliced tomato
- sliced red onion
Instructions
- Mix together Yoghurt Sauce ingredients and place in the refrigerator to allow the flavours to develop.
- Place the Kebab ingredients except the oil in a bowl and use your hands to just combine (don't over mix).
- Divide into 8 portions and mould onto skewers.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add skewers (I could fit all in, placing them in alternating directions) and cook for 8 minutes, turning to brown all sides.
- Meanwhile, slice tomatoes and red onion.
- Serve kebabs with pita bread, lettuce, tomatoes, red onion and yoghurt sauce on the side. Wedges of lemon are also a great accompaniment.
Cup of Yum
Notes
- I used an ordinary box grater, but it would have been smarter to use my food processor which I used to ground the nuts! You could also finely chop it, but I find you get better flavour by grating because the juices mix throughout.
- The pistachio nuts are included in the original recipe and add richness and flavour but these are still really delicious even if you exclude them.
- The original recipe is more complicated because it requires a mix of lamb and veal mince PLUS lamb fat. So this is a simplified version using just lamb. To compensate for these changes, I added more flavour by adding onion and garlic.
- Also, these are traditionally cooked over charcoal, but they are great made on the stove! Great for summer grilling too!
- If you want to cook these on a BBQ with a GRILL, as opposed to a hot plate, soak the skewers for at least 30 minutes in water so they don't burn.
- Nutrition per serving, assuming 4 servings, for kebabs and Yoghurt Sauce only (2 kebabs per person, bread not included).
Nutrition Information
Serving
184g
Calories
330cal
(17%)
Carbohydrates
7.9g
(3%)
Protein
37.7g
(75%)
Fat
16.1g
(25%)
Saturated Fat
4.1g
(21%)
Cholesterol
113mg
(38%)
Sodium
1007mg
(42%)
Potassium
514mg
(15%)
Fiber
1.6g
(6%)
Sugar
1g
(2%)
Vitamin A
600IU
(12%)
Vitamin C
6.6mg
(7%)
Calcium
50mg
(5%)
Iron
4.5mg
(25%)
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 4Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 330
% Daily Value*
| Serving | 184g | |
| Calories | 330cal | 17% |
| Carbohydrates | 7.9g | 3% |
| Protein | 37.7g | 75% |
| Fat | 16.1g | 25% |
| Saturated Fat | 4.1g | 21% |
| Cholesterol | 113mg | 38% |
| Sodium | 1007mg | 42% |
| Potassium | 514mg | 11% |
| Fiber | 1.6g | 6% |
| Sugar | 1g | 2% |
| Vitamin A | 600IU | 12% |
| Vitamin C | 6.6mg | 7% |
| Calcium | 50mg | 5% |
| Iron | 4.5mg | 25% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.