Kofta Kebabs

There are a bunch of Middle Eastern restaurants in my neighborhood. From shawarma spots, to Persian, Greek and other restaurants, I love the flavors in Middle Eastern cuisine. A common food among many of these spots is food on a pita. Whether it is a shawarma, gyro or doner, I love food this regions handheld ‘pocket’ food – or wrap!

Lamb Kofta Kebabs text

One of my favorite things to eat is one of the more common Persian dishes. It is called a kofta kebab and it is essentially a long meatball grilled on a skewer. What makes this dish truly unique is the amazing blend of spices, ranging from ginger, cumin, coriander and fresh parsley and mint. Each bite is an experience and these kofta kebabs are great on rice, with a salad, tzatziki, or throw it in a pita with for an awesome pita pocket!

Lamb Kofta Kebabs-3

Traditionally, kofta kebabs are made with ground lamb. Alternatively, you could use beef, chicken or even pork. They all can work well. I have used a half beef and half pork mixture which turned out great.

Lamb Kofta Kebabs-5

Kofta Kebabs

4.84 out of 5
18 reviews
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Easy kofte recipe with ground lamb or beef and a mix of spices including garlic, ginger, mint, parsley, cumin, coriander, cinnamon and more. Serve with tzatziki, rice or on a pita.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground lamb (or ground beef)
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1/2 inch piece ginger , peeled
  • 2 shallots , peeled
  • 3 tbsp fresh parsley
  • 1 tbsp fresh mint
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 2 tsp coriander
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp salt

Instructions

  • Add all the ingredients, except the ground lamb, to a food processor and pulse until the garlic and ginger are finely minced - about 20-30 seconds.
  • Add the spice mixture to the ground lamb and knead until well combined.
  • If using bamboo skewers, soak for 15 minutes before using.
  • Take a handful of the meat mixture and form into a meatball. Thread onto the skewer and roll the meat in your hands to flatten it into a long egg type shape. Do this with the remaining meat mixture.
  • Heat grill to high heat. Place kebabs on grill and cook for about 6 minutes. Turn and cook another 6 minutes or until the meat is no longer pink. Remove from the grill.
  • Serve with tzatziki. Recipe here.

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Did you try this recipe?

Leave a comment and let me know how it turned out. Or, take a picture to share on Instagram and tag me @theblackpeppercorn.

4.84 from 18 votes (7 ratings without comment)

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37 comments

  • made this recipe and the tzatzikka it was fabulous!!!!

    • Reply
  • What would be a good rice to go with this? I tried a saffron rice, but didnt care for it. Thos last time I made a curry rice, it was good but the curry really didnt pair well with the other spices in the kofta, in my opinion.

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    • 5 stars
      I served it with dill and lemon rice, which complemented it very well.

      • Reply
  • This recipe is awesome. I use ground pork and dried spices. I used 1 tsp dried ginger and in place of shallots I used 1/2 tsp onion powder. Taste just like what I buy in restaurants. I found this recipe about 3 weeks ago and have made it 3 times already.

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  • 5 stars
    Just cooked this recipe up just without the mint it was delicious.

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  • 4 stars
    I have no issues with the receipt, but as an Iranian (Persian) Kofta Kebab is from a variety of Arab countries, but not Iran. My apologies, if I am wrong. I gave it 4 stars, because I don’t mean to put down the receipt itself. Iranians also don’t have tzatziki sauce.

    • Reply
  • Delicious recipe, added a smidge of olive oil to the mini processor to turn the spice/herb mixture to more of a paste. Next time I will give them 3 minutes or so per side, they were a bit over, (my fault, I grill enough), ground lamb is so lean it needs to be left a bit pink in the center.

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  • 5 stars
    These were so incredibly good – and easy and fast to prepare!

    I have a question though. I’ve been on WW for the past 15 months and have lost over 70 pounds, therefore I don’t eat lamb very often. Do you think this recipe would work for ground turkey?

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  • 5 stars
    Absolutely delicious!!!!! I do love spicy, but i thought there was a little too much pepper. The back of my throat burned a bit! I will decrease the amount next time.

    • Reply

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