Kafta


 

Jim Piesik

TVWBB Fan
Kafta Mishwi (Ground lamb with seasonings grilled).
Ive made this many many times. This is a Lebanese dish that is easy and very very delicious.
Recipe is per 1 pound of ground lamb.
1# ground Lamb
1/2 cup fresh finely chopped Parsely
1/2 cup finely chopped Onions
1/2 tsp Allspice
1 clove of finely chopped Garlic
1 1/2tsp salt (corse)
1/2 tsp of fresh ground black pepper
1/4 tsp Cinnamon

Mix all the above together. Take one fist size hunk of mixture and roll it out into
a log shape that will be about 1 1/2" wide by 5"long. Skewer them and brush them with olive oil, then a little sprinkle of salt and pepper. Grill over medium direct heat for 8-10 minutes (turning them over at about 4 minutes).

For ground meat I suggest flat skewers I have 3/8 and 5/8 but double pronged should work.
Jim
 
ta Mishwi (Ground lamb with seasonings grilled).
Ive made this many many times. This is a Lebanese dish that is easy and very very delicious.
Recipe is per 1 pound of ground lamb.
1# ground Lamb
1/2 cup fresh finely chopped Parsely
1/2 cup finely chopped Onions
1/2 tsp Allspice
1 clove of finely chopped Garlic

Jim... This is really outstanding and while browsing around I found this sauce for it. Not sure where I found it so sorry for not giving the credit it deserves.

The Sauce
1/4 cup plain yogurt
3 tablespoons sour cream
1 pinch table salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dill, dried or fresh
2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped small
1 mint leaves chopped small
1/2 teaspoon honey

I put your Kafta Mishwi in pita bread with some chopped cold tomatoes and some chopped onions. Smothered them all in the sauce. Big hit at our home.

I should add that the market that provides our ground lamb has it spiced up a bit with pepper and garlic, but I didn't change your recipe.

Thanks for posting and we will thank you every time we have it.
 
Hey, I live in Dearborn Michigan which has the largest MiddleEastern population outside the MiddleEast. Just wanted to let you guys know if you don't already, a lot of recipes that call for Allspice if it's from a MiddleEasterner many times means to use MiddleEastern 7 spice and not the Allspice we are used to. Just a comment, its a great spice as well. Ken
 
Brian ,
That sauce looks interesting. Although I like to eat kafta plain or sandwiched in Pita.

Ken,
You are correct 7 spice is the correct (authentic) mixture. But one needs to get a true Lebanese mixture (Bhar Helou) which contains: allspice ,black peppercorn ,cloves ,fenugreek seed ,cinnamon, ,ground ginger ,ground nutmeg.
I've seen in grocery stores "7 spice" that do not contain all these ingeedients often not fenugreek and have something else in them. Fortunatly for us we live near a large Mid- East community.
 
I do love kafta, though I usually just break down and buy it at adams meats in eastern market....

but restaurant depot does have ground lamb for cheap from time to time....

damn.... old post monster got me.
 
Ken, Thank you for the information about the Lebanese 7-spice mix. I just found some hits on GOOGLE that will probably provide some sources and probably a recipe or two for the spice mix itself.

I see that "Alissa" says that fenugreek is a no-no in this spice mix. But I have always liked it since I discovered it in the '60s in a small international market. Almost impossible to find then. It was just too far out for most. Just like India's curry recipes where each family makes its curry spice mixture differently. Happily, Penzey's does carry FENUGREEK.
 
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I do kofta kebabs quite often.
A tip I learned was, as Jim says, get a flat skewer and then mould the meat mix around the skewer & into the fridge to firm up.
This way you don't run the risk of the kofta breaking up when you try to skewer it.
 

 

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