Kofta Kebabs With Tzatziki

I really enjoy middle eastern food, especially in the Spring/Summer months.
It lends itself really well to the Keto/Carnivore/Low Carb way of eating, and it’s also really fresh, vibrant and tasty.
Kofta is one of my favorite dishes and it’s seen in different variations right throughout the middle east and even into Pakistan and India also.

What is Kofta?
Simply put, it’s a ground meat kebab, usually made with beef and lamb and seasoned with warm spices, like cumin, cardamom, cinnamon and clove, and brightened up with chopped fresh herbs like parsley, mint, and cilantro (coriander). The Kofta is then usually cooked over charcoal.
A lot of people like to squeeze lemon juice over the top and serve it with a dipping sauce.
We’ve chosen a Greek Style Tzatziki sauce, made with sour cream, cucumber, fresh dill and mint to compliment the Kofta Kebabs. (Greek yoghurt is more traditional, but it is hard to find Greek yoghurt that is low in carbohydrates, and I found that this sour cream version tastes pretty much identical)

NOTE: If you don’t feel like skewering the meat, you can always just patty them out like a hamburger.

KOFTA INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound ground lamb (or you can use all beef, if you can’t get lamb)
• 4 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley (chopped)
• 1 small red onion (finely diced)
• 1 TBSP dried oregano
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1.5 tsp salt (we use Redmond’s Real Salt)
• 3/4 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground clove
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

KOFTA INSTRUCTIONS:

• Add all of the ingredients to a large mixing bowl and mix using your hands (the best kitchen tools), until all of the ingredients are well incorporated.
• Place the kofta mixture into the refrigerator for minimum of 1 hr (4 hours is best) to allow the flavors to marry together.
• After the meat has been refrigerated, patty the meat into hamburger patties, or for the more traditional method, skewer the meat into a kebab.
• Fire up the grill, we use our Wood Pellet Pit Boss, but you could also use a regular charcoal grill. I would definitely choose charcoal over a gas grill for that Authentic Flavor.
• Grill the Kofta kebabs and patties until fully cooked or internal temperature reaches 160F with a digital instant read thermometer.
• We also like to cut a few lemons in half and grill them too… It brings out a beautiful complexity and sweetness to the lemon when you squeeze it over the Kofta when serving.
• SERVE WITH TZATZIKI SAUCE(RECIPE BELOW), GRILLED LEMONS AND SLICED CUCUMBERS. Even our Antipasto Salad would go fantastic with this.
• ENJOY!!

TZATZIKI SAUCE INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups sour cream (or keto approved plain Greek yoghurt)
• 1 large cucumber (I prefer English or Lebanese, if you can get it)
• 3 cloves garlic (minced)
• 3 TBSP white wine vinegar (you can also use lemon juice, but the vinegar adds more complexity)
• 2 TBSP olive oil (best quality you can afford)
• 3 TBSP fresh dill (finely chopped)
• 1 TBSP fresh mint (finely chopped)
• good pinch of salt (we use Redmond’s Real Salt) and ground black pepper (season to taste)

TZATZIKI SAUCE INSTRUCTIONS:

• Peel skin off of the cucumber, then coarsely grate the cucumber into a colander. Sprinkle with a good pinch of salt to help extract extra moisture. Allow to sit for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, add sour cream, garlic, white wine vinegar and olive oil into a medium sized mixing bowl, and whisk together until incorporated.
• After 15 minutes, put the grated cucumber into some cheesecloth or a thin dish towel and ring out all of the water you can from the cucumber. This is an important step so you don’t have a runny Tzatziki.
• Add this to the sauce, stir, and then add salt and pepper and taste for seasoning.
• Add fresh chopped herbs into the Tzatziki, and stir to mix.
• Allow to sit in the refrigerator for an hour for the flavors to marry together.

PRODUCTS WE USE:

• KITCHEN AID MEASURING SPOONS/CUPS
• PIONEER WOMAN CUTTING BOARD
• PIONEER WOMAN KNIFE SET
• STAINLESS MIXING BOWLS
• METAL SKEWERS
• PIT BOSS WOOD PELLET SMOKER
• PIT BOSS HICKORY PELLETS
• THERMOPRO DIGITAL MEAT THERMOMETER
• COLLANDER
• SILICONE RUBBER SPATULA

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