Garlicky, herby and full of flavor, these beef koftas pack a huge punch. Koftas are commonly made on the grill, but these are made on the stovetop to be enjoyed year round. Serve it with naan or pita, tzatziki, and a lot of crisp veggies.
Kofta is a dish that is popular across the Middle East, South Asia and North Africa, deriving from the Persian word meaning “to beat or grind”. It can be made with various ground meats, commonly beef or lamb, and is often shaped into meatballs or elongated kebabs.
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Ingredients
- ground beef
- garlic, minced
- paprika
- mustard powder
- curry powder
- granulated onion or onion powder
- dried oregano
- fresh mint finely chopped
- fresh parsley finely chopped
- kosher salt
- skewers (if using)
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Step One: Mince the garlic, parsley and mint. Combine the meat, herbs and spices in a large bowl and mix well.
Step Two: Divide the meat into 16 long sausage shapes. If using skewers, form the sausages around each skewer.
Step Three: Heat a pan such as a cast iron or comal on medium high heat. Add a small drizzle of oil and cook the koftas in batches. Cook on each side for 2-3 minutes, until the beef is cooked through to an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
Step Four: Let cooked koftas rest on a plate covered in foil while the rest of the meat cooks. Serve with naan, tzatziki, and a lot of veggie toppings.
Hint: Put a little water on your fingers and flick it onto the pan. If the water immediately sizzles, you know your pan is hot enough to get a good sear on your koftas.
Give yourself the gift of prep!
In this section I will give you ways to freeze, re-purpose and/or use some of your ingredients for another meal. Save yourself some time and effort next time you’re in the kitchen!
Prep ahead of time: Make the meat mixture the day before and store it in the fridge or double the meat mixture and freeze half of it. All you’ll have to do is is defrost it and shape the koftas.
Use leftovers: Break up pieces of leftover kofta into a Greek quinoa bowl. The linked recipe calls for chicken, but just replace it with the beef kofta.
Variations
- Lamb- Use a 50/50 split of ground lamb and ground beef or try it with only lamb.
Equipment
Since we are not using a grill for these, a pan that retains heat well, such as a cast iron or carbon steel comal, is essential to get a nice caramelized sear on the meat.
Top Tip
Two things are vital to getting a perfect sear on the koftas.
A well heated pan: Put a little water on your fingers and flick it onto the pan. If the water immediately sizzles, you know your pan is hot enough to get a good sear on your koftas.
Cooking in batches: A crowded pan will steam, not sear and we really want to develop flavors from the caramelization of the koftas.
Related
Looking for other recipes that utilize beef? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with kofta:
Recipe
Beef Kofta
Course: Lunch, DinnerCuisine: Middle Eastern4
servings7
minutes18
minutes1
hour10
minutesKofta is a dish that is popular across the Middle East, South Asia and North Africa, deriving from the Persian word meaning "to beat or grind". Garlicky, herby and full of flavor, these Beef Koftas pack a huge punch.
Ingredients
2 lb ground beef
8 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoon paprika
2 tablespoon mustard powder
2 tablespoon curry powder
1 tablespoon granulated onion or onion powder
3 tablespoon dried oregano
3 tablespoon fresh mint finely chopped
3 tablespoon fresh parsley finely chopped
1 ½ tablespoon kosher salt (if using sea salt, reduce to 1 tbsp)
- Non food
16 skewers (if using)
Directions
- Combine the meat, herbs and spices in a large bowl and mix well.
- Divide the meat into 16 long sausage shapes. If using skewers, form the sausages around each skewer.
- Heat a pan such as a cast iron or comal on medium high heat. Add a small drizzle of oil and cook the koftas in batches. Cook on each side for 2-3 minutes, until the beef is cooked through to an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
- Let cooked koftas rest on a plate covered in foil while the rest of the meat cooks. Serve with naan, tzatziki, and a lot of veggie toppings.
Notes
- adapted from Recipe Tin Eats