Kofta

(Middle Eastern spiced meatballs)

Yield: 4-6 servings, or about 20 meatballs

INGREDIENTS	PREP	AMOUNT
Ground lamb, beef, or a mixture of the two		2 pounds
Onion	minced	1
Parsley or mint, fresh or dried	minced or crumbled	1/2 bunch or 1 tablespoon
Cumin, ground		1 tablespoon
Cinnamon		2 teaspoons
Allspice (optional)		1 teaspoon
Salt & pepper		to season
Oil		3-5 tablespoons

Basic Steps: Mix → Chill → Sauté or Grill

Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and knead together well. Wrap in plastic and chill 1-2 hours to meld flavors and make the meat easier to handle.
Form the meat mixture into balls, patties or ovals the size of a small egg.
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat and fry the meatballs in batches until browned on the outside and cooked through. Browned meatballs can also be finished in a 350ºF oven.
Serve as is or in pita bread as a sandwich with tzatziki sauce.

Keftedes (Greece): add some breadcrumbs and a little red wine to the meat mixture.
Köfte (Turkey): add some breadcrumbs and some chopped parsley and mint to the meat mixture. Form the meat into a sausage shape on skewers. Oil the meat well and grill over hot coals.
Before frying, you can roll the kofta in some flour and shake off the extra to help them brown.
Experiment with different seasonings - coriander, cayenne, sesame seeds.

Kofta meatballs are common from Morocco throughout the Middle East (kufta), to Greece (keftedes), Turkey (köfte), Armenia (kyufta), Iran (kufteh, or koofteh) and all the way to India.