We like my fake Gyros I make with ground beef but I’ve been wanting to try them with ground lamb or a mixture and I finally saw some ground lamb at the grocery store. And I will do that one day…but tonight I saw this recipe for Ground Lamb Kofta Kebabs on AllRecipes.com and decided to try them instead. The spices intrigued me. Reading through the comments though the amount of cinnamon seemed off to me so I cut it down to 1/2 tsp. I almost left it out altogether as I’m sometimes not fond of cinnamon in savory dishes. But I’m glad I left it in (and glad I only used 1/2 tsp!). These were really good!
Lamb Kofta
I skipped the whole skewer and grill step because my barbecue ran out of propane the other night. I just formed them into flattened sausage like shapes and cooked them on the George Foreman Grill. I don’t use that often since we can cook outside so much but it is handy for the days I don’t want to cook outside. And especially handy if you’re cooking for just one or two.
Ground Lamb Kofta
Ingredients
Lamb Koftas
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 pound ground lamb
- 3 Tbs minced onion
- 3 Tbs chopped parsley
- 1 Tbs ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
For the Tzatziki Sauce
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- 1/2 a cucumber peeled, seeded, and diced
- a scant tablespoon of red wine vinegar
- black pepper to taste 1/4 tsp to start?
- chopped mint or dill optional and I usually leave out
Condiments
- chopped lettuce
- sliced cucumber
- sliced tomatoes
- sliced radishes
- pita bread
Instructions
For the Koftas
- Before starting, lay a sheet of waxed paper on a plate. You can lay the koftas on here before cooking. It’s best to let the flavors develop a bit, a half hour at least. (Or you could mix them up in the morning, then cover and refrigerate until dinner time.)
- Put the salt on your cutting board then chop the garlic into it, sometimes flattening your knife to press the garlic and salt together to make a paste. (You could also do this in a pestle but I’m all for limiting how much I have to wash after dinner!) Put the salt and garlic in a bowl and add the ground lamb and all the other ingredients. Mix together with your hands until the spices are well distributed. Take about a 2″ ball of ground meat and roll out like a sausage, then flatten a bit and put on the waxed paper. Repeat until you’ve used up all the meat. Pour a bit of olive oil over each and turn and coat each kofta. If you’re going to cook soon, you can leave this out for half an hour. Otherwise, cover and refrigerate.
For the Sauce
- Mix up the tzatziki sauce by choping the salt and garlic together, pressing with the flat of the knife to create a paste. Mix with the yogurt and other ingredients. Refrigerate until serving.
For the Condiments
- Chop and prep the condiments of your choice.
Bringing it all Together
- When you’re ten minutes or so from wanting to eat, take the meat out of the refrigerator and preheat your George Foreman grill or a skillet. (It will just take a bit longer in the skillet because you only have heat from one side.)
- Cook the meat until through to your liking. This took just about 3-4 minutes in the GF grill. Wipe the grill clean and heat the pitas in them until warmed through, then cut in half. Serve with some chopped lettuce, chopped tomatoes if they’re in season, extra cucumber if you’d like, and the tzatziki sauce.
Packed for lunch!
Leftovers make a great lunch! Just pack the yogurt sauce separately so the pitas don’t get soggy.
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