Lamb Kofta with Pickled Chilies and Herbed Yogurt

Kofta lives or dies on texture. Get it right and the meat is springy and holds together on the skewer. Get it wrong and you have a sad lamb meatball that crumbles into the fire. The difference is not the spice blend, it is kneading. Ground lamb needs to be worked until the proteins link up and the mix turns tacky enough to cling to your palm when you turn your hand over.

We serve these with two cold things: chilies pickled that morning and a yogurt thick with dill and mint. Lamb is fatty and the spices are warm, so the plate needs acid and it needs it sharp. The pickles take ten minutes of work and half an hour of waiting, and they are the reason this tastes like something you would order rather than something you threw together.

Get 80/20 ground lamb, ideally shoulder. Lean ground lamb makes dry kofta, and no amount of yogurt on the side fixes that.

Why this lamb kofta works

• Kneading builds the bind. Two to three minutes of working the mix develops the protein structure that keeps kofta on the skewer over live fire.
• Grated onion, squeezed dry. You want the onion flavor without its water, which is what makes kofta steam and fall apart.
• A tablespoon of ice water. Counterintuitive after squeezing the onion, but it keeps the fat cold while you knead, and cold fat means a juicier kofta.
• Chill before shaping. Thirty minutes in the fridge firms the fat so the koftas hold their shape when they hit the heat.
• Same day pickles. Quick pickled chilies stay crisp and taste of chili. Anything sitting in vinegar for a week turns soft and tastes only of vinegar.

Ingredients

For the kofta

• 2 lb ground lamb (900 g), 80/20, shoulder ground
• 1 small onion, grated and squeezed dry in a clean cloth
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley (15 g)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped mint (8 g)
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Aleppo pepper
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp ice water

For the quick pickled chilies

• 8 oz mild green chilies (225 g), Anaheim or jalapeno, sliced into rings
• 3/4 cup white wine vinegar (180 ml)
• 3/4 cup water (180 ml)
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1 tsp coriander seed

For the herbed yogurt

• 1 1/2 cups whole milk yogurt (370 g)
• 1 garlic clove, grated fine
• 2 tbsp chopped dill
• 2 tbsp chopped mint
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Substitutions: beef chuck ground at 80/20 works, though it needs more salt. Aleppo pepper can be replaced with 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes plus 1/4 tsp sweet paprika. Cilantro instead of parsley shifts the dish and works fine.

Method

1. Pickle the chilies first. Pack the chili rings, garlic and coriander seed into a clean glass jar. Bring the vinegar, water, sugar and salt to a boil, stir until dissolved, and pour it over hot. Leave on the counter at least 30 minutes. They are good at 30 minutes and better at 3 hours.
2. Mix the herbed yogurt. Stir everything except the olive oil together, then refrigerate. Drizzle the oil over just before it goes to the table so it sits on the surface rather than disappearing.
3. Grate and dry the onion. Grate it on the coarse side of a box grater, then wring it out hard in a clean kitchen cloth. You want about 2 tbsp of pulp and no liquid at all.
4. Mix the kofta. Combine the lamb, onion, garlic, herbs, spices, salt and pepper in a wide bowl. Add the ice water.
5. Knead it. Work the mixture with your hand for 2 to 3 minutes, pressing and folding, until it turns tacky and slightly sticky. Test it: press a palmful against your hand and turn your hand over. If it hangs on, the bind is there. If it drops, keep going.
6. Chill. Cover the bowl with a plate and refrigerate 30 minutes. Firm cold fat is what holds the shape over heat.
7. Shape. Divide into 12 pieces. Press each around a flat metal skewer into a log about 5 inches long and 1 inch thick, squeezing gently so it grips. Flat skewers stop the kofta spinning when you turn them. Without skewers, shape torpedoes and cook them in a pan.
8. Cook over high heat. Grill over hot coals 3 to 4 minutes per side, or sear in a cast iron skillet over medium high in a film of oil. Do not move them until they release on their own. Forced early, they tear.
9. Check the temperature. Ground lamb should reach 160F (71C) at the center. That is a food safety number rather than a texture one, and at 160F these are still juicy because of the fat and the bind.
10. Rest and serve. Give them 5 minutes off the heat. Serve with the herbed yogurt spooned onto the plate, the kofta on top, and a heap of pickled chilies alongside.

Pro tips and common mistakes

• Underkneading is the usual failure. If your kofta falls off the skewer, the mix was not worked long enough. Two minutes feels like a long time and it is not enough by itself, so use the palm test.
• Squeeze the onion harder than you think. Onion water is the second cause of kofta falling apart.
• Use flat metal skewers. Round ones let the meat spin freely and you end up cooking one side twice. We use flat stainless and a wooden board for shaping.
• Do not press them flat on the grill. Squeezing out the fat is squeezing out the reason you bought 80/20.
• Taste the mix before you shape it. Fry a teaspoon of it in a pan and adjust the salt. Raw kofta mix is the one place guessing costs you the whole batch.

Storage and leftovers

Cooked kofta keeps 3 days refrigerated and reheats best in a dry skillet over medium, about 4 minutes, turning once. The microwave makes them rubbery. Raw shaped kofta holds a day in the fridge and freezes up to 2 months on a tray, then transferred to a container once solid. Cook them from frozen over slightly lower heat, adding about 3 minutes.

The pickled chilies keep 3 weeks refrigerated and get softer the whole time. The herbed yogurt is good for 3 days, though the garlic gets more assertive each day.

What to serve with it

• Warm flatbread, which is also the best way to eat the leftovers.
• Chopped salad of tomato, cucumber, parsley and lemon.
• Rice pilaf with toasted vermicelli.
• Charred onion wedges cooked on the grill alongside the kofta.

Nutrition

About 450 calories, 30g protein, 32g fat, and 8g carbs per serving. These are estimates and vary with the exact cut, trim, and any substitutions.

Frequently asked questions

Why does my kofta fall off the skewer?

Two causes, and usually both. The mix was not kneaded to the tacky stage, or the grated onion went in wet. Knead until a palmful hangs on when you turn your hand over, and wring the onion out in a cloth.

Can I make kofta without skewers?

Yes. Shape torpedoes or flat ovals and cook them in a cast iron skillet. You lose the char from live fire but the texture is the same.

How spicy are the pickled chilies?

That depends entirely on the chilies. Anaheims are mild, jalapenos moderate. Pickling pulls a fair amount of heat out into the brine, so the rings land milder than the raw pepper did.

Can I use lean ground lamb?

You can, but the result is dry and the bind is weaker, since fat is part of what holds kofta together. If lean is all you have, add 2 tbsp of cold butter grated into the mix.

How far ahead can I mix the kofta?

Mix and shape up to a day ahead and keep it covered in the fridge. The salt keeps working on the proteins, so a day old mix actually binds better than a fresh one.

Where to buy the lamb

Ground lamb is only as good as what went into the grinder. Shoulder at around 80/20 is the target. Ask a producer near you through our Find a Farmer directory whether they will grind shoulder to order, and ask them to run it through the plate once rather than twice, since a coarser grind makes better kofta.

More on the cut in our lamb shoulder guide, and on the animal in the lamb wiki. For the searing technique, see our guide to pan searing. More lamb to cook: lamb and mushroom shepherds pie and grilled lamb loin chops.