Ground Meat Kofta

I was a little sick of pasta and the typical ground meat dishes I usually make with tomato based sauce and Asian inspired soy sauce or fish sauce based sauce. I wanted something different; something I don’t have too often; something with spices. And so, Kofta came to mind.

According to Wikipedia:

Kofta is a family of meatball or meatloaf dishes found in South Asian, Middle Eastern, Balkan, and Central Asian cuisines. In the simplest form, koftas consist of balls of minced or ground meat—usually beef, chicken, lamb, or pork—mixed with spices and/or onions.

I can’t recall the last time I had Kofta, but there are several places in my neighborhood now that sells them. I followed the recipe from Allrecipes.com and just subbed nutmeg for all-spice because I didn’t have any. The spices make this dish just different from any other meatballs out there.

Here’s a picture walk first (scroll down for recipe and steps):

Ingredients

7 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp salt

1 pound ground meat (lamb, beef, chicken, or turkey, etc)

3 tbsp grated onion

3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (I used 2 tbsp dried this time)

1 tbsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/2tsp nutmeg

Handful of minced baby carrots (optional- I was trying to use up my bulk bag)

Black pepper to taste

2-3tbsp oil

Steps

1-Very finely mince the garlic and mash with salt (forming a paste).

2- Mix the garlic paste with ground meat, onions, parsley, carrots, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and pepper.

**Note-Putting it in the fridge for about 1/2 hour can help make it easier to shape and it may hold better.

3- Form meatballs (I made mine about 1.5 inches oval shaped since that’s what I am usually get when I order them at restaurants).

5- Heat up oil and pan fry the meatballs until all sides are brown and toasty looking. Serve with white sauce (or ketchup) quinoa, pita bread and cucumbers or salad.

**Note- Cook on medium low/low to prevent burning. I’m not sure if it’s the abundance of spices, but it cooked pretty quickly and if I didn’t watch it, I could’ve burned it.

Have you ever had Kofta before? What’s your favorite meat to use when making or eating Kofta?