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The essence of my Turkish family, in a bowl of soup

Two turkish-australian cooks capture the richness of their family's food culture by slurping a soothing serve of traditional soup..

Credit: Jiwon Kim

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Culinary Adventure

episode • The Cook Up with Adam Liaw •  cooking •  25m

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RecipeTin Eats

Fast Prep, Big Flavours

Turkish Lamb Kofta Kebabs

Kebab, kabob, kofta – whatever you call this, it’s fragrant, it’s exotic, and it’s fantastic for midweek because it’s something different but so easy and fast to make . And perfect for summer grilling! These Lamb Kofta Kebabs are adapted from a recipe by Efendy , a popular Turkish restaurant in Balmain, Sydney.

Serve these with store bought or homemade Flatbreads  and a side of Pilaf  or a spiced Middle Eastern Lentil Rice would be wonderfully on theme!

I was watching the latest Food Safari series called  Fire the other night which showcases food from around the world cooked over charcoals and in wood fired ovens. I have neither a charcoal grill nor a wood fired pizza oven, but when I saw these Turkish lamb kofta kebabs, I knew straight away that these would be still be fabulous made on the stove or on an ordinary gas BBQ.

I’m really fond of my Middle Eastern Kebabs , but they require more spices than these! So this easy recipe really appealed to me. They really did take 30 minutes to make, from start to finish.

A simple Turkish Spice Mix

The original lamb kofta kebab recipe is made using a combination of veal and lamb mince (ground meat) plus lamb fat. I don’t know about you, but I don’t even know where to get lamb fat here in Sydney!

So to make this midweek, I made a few alterations. I kept the spice mix the same – super simple, just pepper, cumin and red pepper flakes . But I added extra flavour by adding onion and garlic to compensate for the absence of lamb fat.

I know, I know, onion and garlic isn’t the same as  lamb fat but they definitely do add extra flavour!!

The original lamb kofta kebab recipe calls for pistachio nuts too, which I included because I happened to have them in my pantry. Only because I visited a Middle Eastern grocery a few weeks before and got overly excited by how  cheap the pistachios were!

They definitely add an extra layer of flavour and richness into the lamb kofta kebabs. But these are worth making even if you don’t have pistachios. Truly.  – Nagi x

Serve this Lamb Kofta Kebab with…

Yogurt Sauce (recipe below)

Flatbreads ( homemade or store bought), shredded lettuce, tomato and onion slices

And/or a pilaf – these will go very well with these Koftas:

Rice Pilaf with Dried Fruit and Nuts

Curried Basmati Rice

Middle Eastern Lentil Rice Pilaf  (Mejadra – one of my personal favourites!)

Chickpea Rice Pilaf

And another Turkish street food favourite – Gozleme !

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Ingredients

• ▢ 1 lb / 500g lamb mince (ground lamb) (or substitute with beef)
• ▢ 1 small onion , grated or minced using a food processor - about 1/4 cup (white, brown or yellow) (Note 1)
• ▢ 1 garlic clove , minced
• ▢ 1/4 cup pistachio nuts , ground (Optional. I use my food processor) (Note 2)
• ▢ 1 1/2 tsp salt (table salt, not flakes, use 2 1/2 tsp if using kosher or sea salt flakes)
• ▢ 1 tsp black pepper
• ▢ 1 tbsp cumin powder
• ▢ 1 tbsp red pepper flakes
• ▢ 1 tbsp olive oil

Yoghurt Sauce

• ▢ 3/4 cup plain yoghurt (I use Greek)
• ▢ 1 tbsp lemon juice
• ▢ 1/2 garlic clove , minced
• ▢ Salt and pepper
• ▢ Pita bread or lebanese flat bread , warmed
• ▢ Lettuce leaves of choice
• ▢ Sliced tomato
• ▢ Sliced red onion

Instructions

• Mix together Yoghurt Sauce ingredients and place in the refrigerator to allow the flavours to develop.
• Place the Kebab ingredients except the oil in a bowl and use your hands to just combine (don't over mix).
• Divide into 8 portions and mould onto skewers.
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add skewers (I could fit all in, placing them in alternating directions) and cook for 8 minutes, turning to brown all sides.
• Meanwhile, slice tomatoes and red onion.
• Serve kebabs with pita bread, lettuce, tomatoes, red onion and yoghurt sauce on the side. Wedges of lemon are also a great accompaniment.

Recipe Notes:

Nutrition Information:

Life of dozer.

When yogurt got flung on his nose…

Hi, I'm Nagi !

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

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110 Comments

July 18, 2023 at 12:19 am

May 25, 2023 at 5:18 am

March 17, 2023 at 11:03 pm

March 29, 2022 at 4:51 pm

March 26, 2022 at 2:53 pm

Hi I was just wanting to know can I make the mixture and then freeze uncooked for cooking later on ? we are going camping and this would be a great meal over the fire . Cheers Deanna

March 27, 2022 at 8:21 am

I think they would freeze fine Deanna – you would want to shape them before freezing! N x

January 30, 2022 at 4:37 pm

January 30, 2022 at 4:38 pm

Forgot to add I used beef mince and not lamb.

January 23, 2022 at 2:18 pm

I reduced the chili flakes to half a Tbsp and we still nearly blew our heads off with 500gm lamb mince. Are red pepper flakes and chili flakes not the same thing maybe ? Otherwise tasted great. Would def make again with 1 tsp or 1/4 Tbs chili flakes though.

January 24, 2022 at 5:28 pm

Chili can vary greatly in heat Amanda, even the dried ones! Taste a bit next time before adding then add a little bit at a time. N x

May 26, 2021 at 4:05 pm

Just wondering if it really is one tablespoon of red pepper flakes, or should be maybe one teaspoon? I made these with a kilo of lamb mince and cut the amount of chilli down to just over a tablespoon and it was still pretty fiery!

May 27, 2021 at 11:43 am

Hi Bernie, yes that’s correct but you can always cut down to suit your personal preference. N x

April 8, 2021 at 11:19 am

February 22, 2021 at 5:19 pm

February 12, 2021 at 6:09 am

Could i add a small of shredded beef suet to the mix to try and moisten the kebob?

November 28, 2020 at 9:52 pm

Could I use this spice mix for a marinade? I have lots of diced lamb and would like to cook on skewers.

November 30, 2020 at 10:49 am

Hi Jackie – try this marinade, it’s AMAZING! https://www.recipetineats.com/slow-cooked-lamb-shawarma/ N x

June 23, 2020 at 10:41 am

Why do my kebabs break on the bbq?

November 12, 2020 at 6:13 am

Yes, I have the same problem. My kebabs don’t stay on the skewer while BBQ. They don’t hold their shape and some have even fallen off the skewers and onto the charcoal. What can I do to fix this?

June 24, 2020 at 2:29 pm

Hi Muni, do you mean the mince is breaking apart? N x

June 13, 2020 at 4:09 am

May 29, 2020 at 6:41 pm

May 29, 2020 at 6:46 pm

That’s great to hear Cindy!! N x

August 17, 2020 at 1:09 am

Kofta is a Greek word so this is not Turkish

March 26, 2021 at 11:36 am

Kofte is Turkish word, accept the letter “o” has two dots on it..written correctly with Turkish alphabet it would be “köfte”. This is common everyday Turkish food, Greeks and other Balkan countries also adapted to their kitchens many Turkish food such köfte or imam bayıldı , or döner kebap or sish kebap , Turkish yoğurt, many Turkish desserts and köfte kebap / sish köfte as in the above recipe. All the countries once under the rule of Ottoman Turkish Empire is now sharing Turkish cuisine in their kitchens from Caucasus to eastern Europe, without changing the original Turkish names of these old recipes , naturally this Turkish word could still be used in Greece as they have many Turkish words still remaining in their language. Also in line with the recipe here, the word köfte is used in all the present day Turkic Republics other then Turkey and in their restaurant’s menus located outside of their countries.. The recipe given here and it’s name “Turkish Lamb kofte kebabs” is correct.

March 23, 2020 at 4:17 pm

How long do you have to refrigerate the kebabs before frying them

December 7, 2019 at 2:16 am

Would you BBQ the skewers, or do you think the best is to put them in the oven, as you said?

December 7, 2019 at 2:22 am

Oh, shoot, sorry! I see that you already made comments on BBQing. You can delete this if you wish. I’ll make these tonight 🙂

December 8, 2019 at 1:58 pm

Enjoy Joni!!

May 30, 2019 at 5:31 am

Fantastic! The flavors were amazing. Served with savory rice. Will use this again and again. Gracious thanks

May 30, 2019 at 3:32 pm

Great, thanks for the feedback Mary!

March 7, 2019 at 7:34 am

Love the recipe – any way to make these in the oven (would love to make in bulk and also healthier)?

November 20, 2018 at 9:52 am

Another hit with the adult children. I did use the pistachios and think they were a great addition. Have used a lot of your recipes and never had a failure. Thanks for taking the boredom out of cooking. With two large dogs, I always check out Dozer.

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