Kofta Kebab Food

KOFTA KEBABS WITH TZATZIKI

Steps:

• Smash the garlic cloves, sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt, and, with the flat side of a large knife, mash and smear mixture to a coarse paste. Mix the paste and the remaining 1 tablespoon salt with the meat, onion, parsley, and spices.
• Line a pan with aluminum foil. Divide the meat mixture into 28 rough balls. Mold each piece around the pointed end of a skewer (if you use wooden ones, soak them in water for 15 minutes before threading them), making a 2-inch oval kebab that comes to a point just covering the tip of the skewer. Lay the skewers on the pan, cover, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 12 hours.
• Heat a grill pan over medium heat or prepare a grill. Brush the pan lightly with olive oil. Working in batches, grill the kebabs, turning occasionally, until brown all over and just cooked through, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter and serve with tzatziki and flat bread.
• If you're using plain whole milk yogurt, line a small sieve with a coffee filter. Put the yogurt in it, set it over a bowl, and refrigerate 12 hours. Discard the expressed liquid and put yogurt in the bowl.
• Grate the cucumber on the large holes of a box grater into another bowl. Sprinkle with the 2 teaspoons salt and rub into the cucumber with your hands. Set aside 20 minutes, then squeeze the cucumbers to express as much liquid as possible.
• Smash the garlic, sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt, and, with the flat side of a large knife, mash and smear the mixture to a coarse paste. Stir the cucumber, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and mint into the yogurt. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

GRILLED KOFTA KEBABS

Steps:

• For the kofta: Place 16 to 20 wooden skewers in a container of water and press down to make sure they're fully submerged, then soak for at least 1 hour.
• Grate the onion into a large bowl. Tear the bread into pieces and add it to the grated onion. Add the milk and mix to make sure that the bread is fully soaked. Let it sit for 10 minutes.
• Discard any excess liquid in the bowl (if there is any). Add the beef and lamb and mix into the bread mixture with your hands. Add the parsley, allspice, cumin, paprika, salt, sumac, cinnamon, coriander, black pepper and garlic and mix to combine until the ingredients are well incorporated. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• For the yogurt sauce: Mix the yogurt with the lemon juice, salt, garlic and 1 tablespoon water in a bowl until smooth and combined. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
• Prepare a grill for medium-high heat.
• Divide the meat mixture into 16 to 20 pieces and roll each piece into a cylinder. Press a skewer into each cylinder and shape the mixture around the skewer, making it about 1 inch thick. Place the skewers on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
• Lightly oil the grill grates. Grill the kofta until nicely grill-marked and just cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Serve with the yogurt sauce, warm pita, tomatoes, parsley and onions.

TURKISH KOFTA RECIPE

Steps:

• Traditionally we make the kofte mixture by hand by grating the onions, chopping fresh herbs if used, and mixing the other ingredients in a bowl well. But you can easily do these steps in a food processor. If your food processor isn't so big you can only chop the onion and parsley and continue mixing in a bowl
• In a food processor add onion cut in four, parsley. If you are using stale bread soak it in water to soften then squeeze out excess water and add to the onion parsley mixture. Process until they have fine pieces, avoid over-processing, and don't make it like a puré.
• Add the ground meat, spices, and baking soda if using. Drop 3-4 drops of lemon juice over the baking soda and mix everything by pulsing until is it evenly incorporated.
• Dip your hand into the water from time to time and get smaller than mandarine size mixture and first shape into a ball and press it to make a disk. It comes together when cooks and becomes thicker so consider that while shaping.
• Heat the cast iron griddle or non-stick frying pan or grill. Brush it with vegetable oil. Add kofte pieces leaving space between them and cook on medium heat until both sides and inside are fully cooked.
• Meanwhile cut the tomatoes in big wedges and cook on the griddle or grill with green peppers.
• Serve the koftes with pilav and grilled veggies. You can also make coban salad, or cacik (yogurt-cucumber sauce) to serve.

KOFTA KEBABS

Steps:

• For the tzatziki sauce: Strain Greek yogurt through a paper-towel lined colander and let sit for 3 hours to thicken, refrigerated.
• Fold the yogurt with cucumbers, fresh lemon juice, mint, crushed garlic cloves, salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• For the harissa sauce: Char red bell peppers over an open flame, then remove seeds and clean the skin.
• Boil Fresno chiles in salted water in a pot on medium heat until the vegetables start to soften. Drain, then deseed and remove the membranes of the chiles.
• Toast cumin seeds, coriander and caraway seeds in a skillet until fragrant. Crush the toasted spices in a spice grinder with mint and salt until finely ground.
• Blend the spice mixture with the roasted red bell peppers, Fresno chiles, vegetable oil, garlic and lemon juice until smooth. Drizzle in olive oil while blending.
• For the tahini sauce: Blend tahini, water, lemon juice, salt and garlic.
• For the kebabs: Mix ground beef, allspice, nutmeg, salt, cinnamon, pepper, ginger, garlic, onion and parsley in a bowl by hand, then refrigerate overnight.
• Form the mixture into 4 to 6 balls, then put each on a metal skewer. Lengthen the meat into elongated kebab shapes and grill over medium heat, 2 to 3 minutes per side.
• Warm the pita with a little butter and swipe with the tzatziki sauce. Top with the kebab, then squirt with tahini sauce and harissa sauce.

CHEF JOHN'S KOFTA KEBABS

Steps:

• Cut toasted bread slice into thin strips on a cutting board; cut strips across into a small dice.
• Place onion, parsley, and garlic on top of diced bread on the cutting board; chop until mixture resembles tabbouleh.
• Season beef and lamb with kosher salt, black pepper, allspice, paprika, cardamom, nutmeg, and cayenne. Add onion mixture and water. Mix and mash with your hands until well combined.
• Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour, up to overnight.
• Remove meat from the refrigerator and roll ¼ of the mixture into a ball using wet hands. Pierce in the middle with a bamboo skewer. Shape meat into a uniform log, about 6 inches long and 2 inches wide.
• Meanwhile, preheat a charcoal grill until coals are very hot.
• Place kebabs on the hot grill until browned and cooked through, about 12 minutes, turning every 3 minutes or so. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of a kebab should read at least 145 degrees F (63 degrees C). Serve.

KOFTA KEBABS

Steps:

• Mash the garlic into a paste with the salt using a mortar and pestle or the flat side of a chef's knife on your cutting board. Mix the garlic into the lamb along with the onion, parsley, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, allspice, cayenne pepper, ginger, and pepper in a mixing bowl until well blended. Form the mixture into 28 balls. Form each ball around the tip of a skewer, flattening into a 2 inch oval; repeat with the remaining skewers. Place the kebabs onto a baking sheet, cover, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes, or up to 12 hours.
• Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat, and lightly oil grate.
• Cook the skewers on the preheated grill, turning occasionally, until the lamb has cooked to your desired degree of doneness, about 6 minutes for medium.