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Koftas

Koftas

This week’s special offer is on our wonderful Lidgate Koftas, made with free-range minced shoulder of lamb, a pinch of spices, fresh onions, and parsley. So, what is a Kofta? Where did it come from? And what do you serve it with? Here are the answers to all those culinary questions. 

The word Kofta comes from the Urdu and originally from Persian and means pounded meat. The first appearance of recipes for kofta are in the earliest Arab cookbooks. The earliest recipes are for large ground lamb meatballs triple-glazed in a mixture of saffron and egg yolk. So although they are well known as part of Indian cuisine, they are originally middle-eastern.

The most basic kofta is made from meat which has been very finely ground so that it turns into a smooth paste.

They can be grilled, fried, steamed, poached, baked, or marinated, and may be served with a rich spicy sauce or in a soup or stew.

The meat is mixed with spices like coriander, garlic, onions, turmeric, cumin, cardamom, or nutmeg, and then it is grilled, baked, fried, or roasted, depending on the cook’s taste. Many cooks skewer their koftas for easy cooking, although the skewers are typically removed to serve them, except in parts of the Middle East, where cigar-shaped kofta are served on skewers in the street as snacks.

There is also a great variety of versions. Often added into the kofta mixture are nuts, cheese, or eggs and they come in a broad range of shapes and sizes, from little oval shaped egg size balls to flatly carved 3D rectangles or tennis sized balls.

 

 

Turkish Kofta served with crisp and fluffy pide bread, or served with a side of potatoes.

 

 

 

Using chicken mince instead of thigh or breast here allows more room for flavour, and these Middle-Eastern spiced bites are packed full of it.

 

Serve these beef Koftas alongside four to five warmed pitas, a cup of plain yogurt, red onion sliced into rings, and two limes quartered. 

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