LovaCook
Main Dishes

Grilled Lamb Kofta with Yogurt Sauce

Spiced lamb koftas grilled until charred, tucked into warm pita with garlicky yogurt, pickled onion and heaps of herbs.

By LovaCook Editorial Team

Prep: 20 minCook: 10 minTotal: 33 minYield: 4 servingsDifficulty: Easy
Spiced lamb kofta in a warm pita with yogurt sauce, sliced tomato, red onion and fresh parsley on a white plate.

Kofta suits a Friday night when something exciting is wanted without much planning, since the spice mix does most of the work.

It's part of the same warm, savoury family as the sheet pan halloumi — big flavours, minimum fuss.

Ingredients

Kofta

  • 500g ground lamb
  • 1 small onion, finely grated
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • Big handful chopped parsley

Yogurt sauce

  • 1 cup (240g) Greek yogurt
  • 1 small clove garlic, grated
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • Salt

To serve

  • 4 warm pita or flatbreads
  • Sliced red onion
  • Sliced cucumber and tomato
  • Fresh mint and parsley

Instructions

  1. Mix the kofta ingredients in a bowl. Shape into 12 sausage-shapes around skewers, or into oval patties.
  2. Whisk the yogurt sauce ingredients and chill.
  3. Grill or cook in a hot cast-iron pan with a drizzle of oil for 8–10 minutes total, turning, until charred outside and just cooked through.
  4. Rest the kofta 3 minutes.
  5. Stuff into pita with the salad, herbs and a big spoon of yogurt sauce.

Cooking tips

  • Grating the onion (not chopping) keeps the mixture juicy.
  • Let the mix sit in the fridge 20 minutes if you have time — the spices bloom.
  • Freeze uncooked kofta in a single layer, then bag them up. Cook from frozen at a lower heat.

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