Spiced Ground Meat (Kofta): Seasoning Technique

Ingredients

• 500 g ground lamb or beef, minimum 20% fat
• 1 medium onion, very finely grated, excess moisture squeezed out
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp ground allspice
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp dried chilli flakes or ground chilli
• 1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley and/or fresh coriander, finely chopped

Method

1. 1
   Grate the onion on the finest side of the grater directly over a clean cloth or piece of muslin, then gather the cloth and wring firmly to expel as much liquid as possible, so the onion adds its savour and binding to the meat without the water that would turn the mixture slack and cause the kofta to fall from the skewer. The squeezed onion should feel almost dry to the touch and hold together in a compact mass. If it still feels wet or slack, wring again.
2. 2
   Combine the ground meat, wrung onion, cumin, coriander, allspice, cinnamon, chilli, and chopped fresh herbs in a wide bowl, then work the mixture by hand with sustained kneading pressure for several minutes — not merely stirring — so the fat is distributed evenly and the mass becomes cohesive enough to grip a skewer without a binder. The mixture is ready when it pulls cleanly away from the sides of the bowl and feels slightly tacky, much as a developed bread dough does.
3. 3
   Perform the squeeze-and-shape test: take a handful of the mixture, compress it firmly in the fist, then open the hand and release — the compressed portion must hold its shape with no cracking, crumbling, or visible fissures, because if it cannot hold itself in a cold hand it will certainly split over a hot grill. If it cracks, the fat content is insufficient or the kneading was inadequate; if it is slack and wet, not enough onion moisture was removed. This is where the dish lives or dies.
4. 4
   Divide the mixture into equal portions and shape each one around a flat skewer, pressing and rolling into an elongated cylinder of even thickness so that every part of the kofta reaches the same degree of cook at the same moment. The surface should be smooth and show no cracks; any crack signals the mixture needs further kneading before it goes near the heat.
5. 5
   Grill over high heat — charcoal if available — turning once, so the exterior develops definite char marks and a deep brown crust that seals the juices inside rather than letting them weep out during cooking. When pressed lightly with a finger through a cloth, the kofta should yield with slight resistance but feel neither rigid nor hollow, and the interior must remain moist.