Kofta kebabs with tahini yogurt and chopped salad
40 min · 46 g protein · 484 cals / serving
Juicy, charred skewers of spiced beef and lamb with grated onion, parsley, cumin and a warm hint of allspice and cinnamon. They come off the grill smoky at the edges with sweet charred peppers and go straight onto a lemony tahini yogurt, with a crunchy salad of tomato, cucumber and red onion and warm pita to wrap it all up.
Ingredients
Kofta
- 1 lb 2 oz ground beef (95% lean)
- 1/4 lb ground lamb
- 1 small onion, grated, juice squeezed out
- 2/3 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, grated
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- a light coat cooking spray, olive oil spray
Tahini yogurt
- 1 1/4 cups nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp tahini
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic, grated
Chopped salad
- 4 medium tomatoes, diced
- 2 medium cucumbers, diced
- 1/2 small red onion, finely sliced
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp sumac, or a little lemon zest
Grilled peppers
- 2 large red bell peppers, in wide strips
- 1 small red onion, in thick wedges
To serve
- 1 1/2 pitas whole wheat pita bread, cut in wedges and warmed
Steps
- Put the beef, lamb, grated onion, parsley, garlic, spices, salt and pepper in a bowl and knead with your hand for 2 minutes until the mixture turns sticky and holds together. Divide into 12 and squeeze each around a skewer (soak wooden ones first) into a sausage about 5 inch long. Chill 15 minutes if you have time.
- Stir together the yogurt, tahini, lemon juice and garlic with a pinch of salt. Loosen with a spoonful of water until it is spoonable.
- Toss the tomato, cucumber, red onion and parsley with the lemon juice, olive oil, sumac and a pinch of salt.
- Heat a grill, grill pan or the broiler very hot. Spray the kofta, pepper strips and onion wedges lightly with oil. Grill the vegetables 6–8 minutes until charred and soft, and the kofta 8–10 minutes, turning every couple of minutes, until well charred and cooked through (160°F in the centre).
- Spread the tahini yogurt on a platter, lay the kofta, peppers and onion on top and serve with the salad and warm pita.
Good to know
Why so little lamb?
Lamb is what makes kofta taste like kofta, and a sixth of the meat is enough to carry it. All-lamb kofta is richer and fattier, at about 60 instead of 70; all-beef kofta is fine, just milder, so add an extra pinch of allspice.
No skewers?
Shape the mix into 12 small torpedoes and cook them in a hot nonstick skillet or under the broiler, turning often. They taste the same.
Can I make them ahead?
Shape them up to a day ahead and keep covered in the fridge, or freeze them raw on a tray. The tahini yogurt keeps 3 days.
Per
- Calories
- 81
- Protein
- (39%)
- 8 g
- Fat
- (31%)
- 3 g
- Carbohydrates
- (31%)
- 7 g
- of which sugar
- 3 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 118 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How
As written, 1936 kcal goes into the pot and 2683 g of ingredients comes out as about 2400 g of food: 81 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.