| Greek Kofta Recipe |
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KEY POINTS
| Preparation Time: | 15 minutes | Cooking Time: | 12 minutes |
| How Difficult | Easy | Freeze? | No |
| Servings |
4 portions |
INGREDIENTS
| Ingredients for Koftas |
Imperial |
Metric |
| Minced lamb |
1lb 2oz |
500g |
| Small onion | 1 | |
| Small egg | 1 | |
| Ground coriander | 1½ teaspoon | |
| Ground cumin | ½ teaspoon | |
| Lemon juice or zest of 1 lemon | 1 teaspoon | |
| Garlic cloves | 2 | |
| Dried mint or fresh mint | 1 tablespoon (2 for fresh) | |
| Lamb or vegetable stock cube | 1 | |
| Yogurt Sauce |
Imperial |
Metric |
| Greek Yogurt | 7oz | 200g |
| Chopped parsley | 2 tablespoons | |
| Lemon juice | 1½ teaspoon | |
COOK'S NOTES: The word Kofta (called keftedes in Greece) is derived from the Persian word "koffteh", literally meaning "pounded meat". It is first recorded as a recipe in Turkey. There are literally hundreds of versions of this dish and they come from countries such as Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, Albania and Armenia. Our version is made from lamb with the herbs coriander and cumin making this a distinctly Greek variety. |
COOKING EQUIPMENT
1 frying pan
4 skewers (optional)
| PREPARATION Peel and finely chop (it's important to chop finely) the onion. Peel and finely chop the garlic. |
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Put all the ingredients for the Koftas in a largish bowl and mix it
well with you hands. Make sure the egg is mixed in well. Divide the mix into eight and firmly shape each into a ball shape. Firm each kofta well so that it doesn't break up when cooking. |
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Cool your hands under running cold water for a
minute and then mould the Koftas into the shape shown on the right. Firm each kofta well again so that it doesn't break up when cooking. |
| Rather than put the skewers into the koftas at this
stage, cook them first. This reduces the risk of the koftas falling
apart. On a medium barbecue they will take about four minutes each side. In a frying pan on medium to high heat, they will take about 6 minutes each side. |
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While the koftas are cooking, mix the ingredients for the
Yogurt sauce with a fork for about 30 seconds. Skewer two Koftas per person, serve with rice and a salad or green beans and a tomato sauce as we did. |
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