Entrée
Lamb Kofta, Yogurt-Tahini Sauce
Spiced ground lamb skewers with a cooling yogurt-tahini sauce. Grill or broiler, either works.
Ingredients · 4 servings
| 1.25 lb | ground lamb |
| 0.5 whole | onion |
| 1 tsp | cumin · pantry |
| 0.25 tsp | cinnamon · pantry |
| 0.5 cup | plain whole-milk yogurt |
| 2 tbsp | tahini |
| 1 whole | lemon |
| 2 cloves | garlic grow it ↗ |
| kosher salt · pantry |
Method
- Mix lamb with grated onion, cumin, cinnamon, and salt. Shape into oblong koftas around skewers.
- Whisk yogurt, tahini, lemon juice, grated garlic, and salt into a smooth sauce.
- Broil or grill koftas 8-10 min, turning once, until browned outside and 160F / 71C inside.
- Serve with the yogurt-tahini sauce.
The Why · No Anecdotes
The science, not a story about my childhood.
Why grate onion into the meat instead of leaving it out or using diced onion?
Grated onion releases its juice directly into the meat mixture, adding moisture that bastes the kofta from the inside as it cooks. Diced onion stays as separate chunks that don't do this, and skipping it entirely tends to leave ground lamb — which is fattier but still lean muscle — a little dry by the time it's safely cooked through.
Why does ground lamb need 160F / 71C when a whole lamb chop could be pulled lower?
Grinding distributes any surface bacteria through the entire mass of meat instead of leaving it just on the exterior, so the whole interior needs to reach a pasteurizing temperature — 160F for ground red meat, same as ground beef. A whole chop only needs the surface seared and the center brought to a lower temperature, because that's the only place bacteria could realistically be.
Suggested sides — swap freely