Kofta’s are a favourite Middle Eastern dish, made from ground meat and spices. We first tried Kofta’s during our diving trip to the Red Sea – Sharm el Sheik, Egypt. Egypt has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea, the Nile River and the Red Sea. Egyptian cuisine showcases rice-stuffed vegetables, grape leaves, hummus, falafel, shawarma, kebobs and kofta’s. We serve kofta’s with any number of Mediterranean sides.
Kofta’s
Kofta’s can be made with beef, lamb, chicken, or ground turkey. We like ground beef, but any meat will do. Except for the onion (1.5 CHO), there are no Carbs until the condiments and pitas.
If you like mint or cilantro, change up the parsley and the flavour. There are many recipes; this is the one we have settled on.
You can just make the meatballs if you prefer, but we like the skewer (shorter and flat sided) approach.
Ingredients
- 2 lb. (908 gr) ground beef, chicken, lamb, turkey
- 1 TBSP ground coriander
- 2 tsp. cumin
- 2 tsp. paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp. pepper
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp. ground ginger
- 2 TBSP (15 gr) red onion, finely chopped
- ¼ cup (8 gr) parsley, finely chopped
- 1 egg (beaten)
Instructions
- Start preparing the kofta’s a minimum of 1 hour prior to cooking. The wooden skewers soak for 30 minutes while prepping the kofta’s and once formed on the skewers, they should stay a minimum of 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
- Mix all the spices (coriander, cumin, paprika, salt, pepper, cinnamon, and ginger) in a small dish and set aside.
- Finely chop red onion and parsley.
Mix ground meat, spices, red onion, parsley and beaten egg until all ingredients are incorporated.
Measure 1/4 – 1/3 cup loosely packed kofta mixture and form it around the skewer. (There are no Carbs so the size is up to you). Place on Pampered Chef style baking sheet or on parchment paper on a tin baking sheet.
- Once the kofta’s are formed, place cooking sheet in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes and up to 1 hour (covered with plastic wrap).
- Pre heat oven to 400.
Cook 1/4 cup sized kofta’s for 20- 25 minutes and 1/3 cup sized kofta's for 30 – 35 minutes.
- Kofta’s should be cooked through.
- Let rest for 5 minutes and serve with pitas, tortilla chips and condiments of choice. We’ve served with:
Tzatziki, Hummus, and Bruschetta
- or sliced vegetables and lemon slices.
