Lamb Kofta Kebabs – with Video 🎥

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This Lamb Kofta Kebabs recipe is outstanding! It’s one of my favorite Middle Eastern recipes. These spiced meatballs are made with lamb mince and loaded with spices that you can easily find in your pantry.

Middle Eastern Lamb Kofta Kebabs

If you are looking for Middle Eastern recipes that you can make at home, try this Lamb Kofta Kebabs recipe! These meatballs are loaded with flavors yet are so easy to make! The ground lamb is seasoned well with herb and spices that you may already have in your pantry.

These Middle Eastern Lamb Kofta Kebabs are gluten-free, low carb, and keto-friendly!

Lamb Kofta Kebabs Recipe:

Lamb kofta is one of the most popular Middle Eastern foods alongside shawarma and doner kebabs. This dish is also found in cuisines from the Indian subcontinent, South Caucasus, Balkan, and Central Asia.

Kofta is a delicious meat dish that is made from ground meat such as beef, chicken, or lamb and mixed in with aromatic vegetables and spices. The meat mixture is then shaped into football shapes or patties or sometimes made on the skewers.

Check Out More Middle-Eastern Inspired Recipes:

• RED LENTIL SOUP (STOVETOP + INSTANT POT INSTRUCTIONS)
• EASY ZA’ATAR ROASTED CHICKEN BREAST
• MOROCCAN COUSCOUS WITH CURRANTS AND PINE NUTS
• CARROT AND LENTIL SOUP (HIGH IN PROTEIN!)
• INSTANT POT LAMB STEW WITH APRICOTS

What to Serve with Lamb Koftas:

You can serve this Lamb Kofta with Middle East vegetable salad, hummus, flatbread, tabbouleh, Lebanese garlic dip (Toum), and/or rice pilaf. Or serve with this delicious Tomato Cucumber Salad recipe.

You can make these lamb koftas in a big batch, fridge or freeze them so you can have these ready for your next gathering or for any weeknight dinner.

CHECK OUT THESE DELICIOUS INSTANT POT RECIPES:

• INSTANT POT CHICKEN CORN CHOWDER (STOVETOP INSTRUCTIONS INCLUDED)
• INSTANT POT RISOTTO
• INSTANT POT GARLIC PARMESAN CHICKEN WINGS (NINJA FOODI + OVEN-BAKED INSTRUCTIONS)
• DRY RUB CHICKEN WINGS (OVEN-BAKED/INSTANT POT/NINJA FOODI)
• KOREAN BBQ WINGS (INSTANT POT + OVEN-BAKED INSTRUCTIONS)
• INSTANT POT CHICKEN WINGS WITH BUFFALO SAUCE
• INSTANT POT BLACK-EYED PEA SOUP WITH HAM HOCK AND SPINACH
• INSTANT POT GOULASH
• INSTANT POT QUESO DIP RECIPE
• INSTANT POT HAMBURGER HELPER
• INSTANT POT CARNITAS – MEXICAN PULLED PORK
• INSTANT POT BEEF STROGANOFF
• INSTANT POT BRISKET AKA PULLED BEEF FOR SLIDERS!
• INSTANT POT BEEF SHORT RIBS – BONELESS!
• INSTANT POT GREAT NORTHERN BEAN SOUP
• INSTANT POT ITALIAN SAUSAGE KALE SOUP

Koftas Seasoning and Ingredients:

These lamb koftas are made with minced lamb. The meat is seasoned with these fresh vegetables and spice mix: fresh onion, fresh cilantro leaves, fresh mint leaves, garlic, paprika, ground cinnamon, allspice powder, ground cumin, ground coriander, salt, and pepper.

I am sure that you can find most of these spices in your pantry. And, if you are not a big fan of Lamb meat, feel free to use ground beef instead!

Allspice:

This spice is made from dried berries of a plant known as Pimenta dioica, which is a member of the myrtle family. It’s commonly used in Middle Eastern, Latin American, and Caribbean cuisines. It’s similar in flavor to many different spices including cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon.

If you don’t have allspice powder in your pantry, feel free to skip or add a small amount of nutmeg and/or ground cloves to the mixture as replacement ingredients.

Cinnamon is commonly used in the Middle East and is in-fact an important part of Middle Eastern cooking. For that reason, cinnamon is in my opinion a must-have ingredient to make lamb koftas.

How to Make Kofta Kebabs:

The cooking process of these lamb koftas is very simple. Just be ready to get your hands dirty!

• First, you will need to combine the meat with vegetables and spices. Use your hands to mix well!
• Second, you want to roll the lamb mixture into football-shaped pieces then thread them onto skewers. Again, the skewers are optional. On lazy days, just shape the mixture into round balls, long cylinders, or flatten them into patties about 1 cm thick.
• Third, cover and chill the lamb balls for about 10 minutes to firm up.
• Fourth, place a griddle pan over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, you can start grilling the koftas for about 3-4 minutes on each side (depending on the size and shape of the meatballs). Be sure to turn them halfway through so both sides are well browned and cooked.

How to Prevent the Meatballs from Falling Apart:

Because these meatballs are made without bread crumbs, the meat won’t hold together easily. So here are some tips to prevent the meat from falling apart when you cook them.

1. Chill the mixture for at least 10 minutes to firm them up before shaping the mixture into balls.
2. Make sure that you have a bowl of cold water ready so you can wet your hand before rolling each meatball.  This will prevent stickiness.
3. Thread the meat onto the skewer and keep pressing and forming meatballs as quickly as possible. Don’t worry about getting the perfect shape. Just make sure that they are roughly the same size. Set aside then keep working to shape the remaining meat into long cylinder meatballs.
4. Right before grilling, grab the meatball on the skewer. Reshape the imperfect balls one more time with wet hands by pressing the meat gently toward the skewer.

I hope you’ll enjoy this Middle Eastern Lamb Kofta Kebabs recipe! Don’t forget to share this recipe on social media and review it if you try it!

Lamb Kofta Kebabs

This Middle Eastern Lamb Kofta Kebabs recipe is outstanding! These spiced meatballs are loaded with aromatic spices that you can easily find in your pantry.

4.78 from 9 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: Middle East

Keyword: Lamb Kofta Kebabs, Kofta Kebabs, Lamb Kofta

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Servings: 8

Calories: 174kcal

Author: Rika Livingston

Equipment

• skewers

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• 1 pound lamb mince
• ¾ cup freshly grated yellow onion
• 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh mint
• 3 tsp minced garlic cloves
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp paprika
• ½ tsp ground allspice
• 1 tsp salt (use more or less according to your liking)
• ½ tsp ground black pepper

Optional:

• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper

Instructions

• In a large mixing bowl, combine minced lamb, fresh onion, chopped cilantro leaves, chopped mint leaves, garlic, paprika, ground cinnamon, allspice powder, ground cumin, ground coriander, cayenne pepepr, salt, and pepper. Chill for at least 10 minutes.
• Using clean damp hands, mold them into oval patties on the skewers.
• Preheat a grill pan over medium-high heat; brush grate with oil. Grill the koftas for about 3-4 minutes or longer on each side (depending on the thickness and size). Start turning when the meat is well sealed.
• Transfer to platter. Serve with your favorite Middle Eastern dishes.

Video

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Lamb Kofta Kebabs

Amount Per Serving

Calories 174 Calories from Fat 126

% Daily Value*

Fat 14g22%

Saturated Fat 6g38%

Cholesterol 41mg14%

Sodium 472mg21%

Potassium 174mg5%

Carbohydrates 3g1%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 1g1%

Protein 10g20%

Vitamin A 205IU4%

Vitamin C 2mg2%

Calcium 29mg3%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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