Kofta kebabs

[Yooper]

This is a great time of year for us! We have venison, and organic lamb (from a neighbor) and organic grass-fed beef from a friend. Just this week we've had venison tenderloin, t-bones on the grill, and grilled lamb shanks. We sure eat great.

I love spicy food, but I wanted to break out of the same old same old and found this recipe on allrecipes.com:

INGREDIENTS:
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 pound ground lamb
3 tablespoons grated onion
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
28 bamboo skewers, soaked in water for
30 minutes
DIRECTIONS:
1. 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.
2. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat, and lightly oil grate.
3. 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.


We won't serve it traditionally, but instead Bob will make basmati rice.

I just mixed this up, as I'm going to work for a few hours and Bob will grill them just before I get home this evening.

But oh, does it smell heavenly! I'm not a huge cinnamon fan, so I halved it, but I used all the rest exactly as written.

 

[Yooper]

This turned out awesome- and we'll be adding into the rotation at our house.

It's aromatic and "fresh" tasting. We loved it.

 

[bierhaus15]

Looks nearly identical to the recipe I use, although I don't use ginger and almost never do the skewers.

In my area, kofta is a very common food item as there is a large Lebanese community. Most places serve them with fresh made pita, labneh (a strained yoghurt), aleppo pepper, and sumac.

The latter two spices are well worth picking up if you can find them. They really make the dish.

 

[Homercidal]

Never had lamb. I've wanted to try it, but it's so darned expensive!

 

[Yooper]

Never had lamb. I've wanted to try it, but it's so darned expensive!

When you come up next summer, I'll cook you some- if there is any left! Remind me!

 

[boscobeans]

Never had lamb. I've wanted to try it, but it's so darned expensive!

Look around and see if you can find a whole bone in leg. Frozen or cryovac. This will cut a couple of bucks off the per pound price.

Take a little time with a good boning knife and deconstruct the entire leg.

The chunks are for stews, kabobs (marinated in vinegar and bay leaves then wrapped in laurel leaves FRESH BAY LEAVES then grilled till the leaves burn off). The trimmings go in broths and soups. My favorite soup is Scotch broth with lamb and barley. The bones make a fantastic stock for the soups or anything else.

bosco

 

[Otterella]

This looks like the same kofta recipe I've made, but I've only used beef. My six year old will eat himself sick when I make it. I have to double the recipe. It's really fantastic with either a classic tzatziki sauce or a tomato basil sauce.