Video | Lamb kofta with chick pea salad & spiced yoghurt

These Lamb Koftas are super simple to make and perfect for an end of summer fling with the BBQ. We serve the dish with a bright and beautiful pomegranate salad. The fresh flavours nicely compliment the smoky lamb, creating a nice zingy dish to enjoy with friends over a bottle of Shiraz!

Recipe

Serves 8 as a starter or 4 as a main course.

Ingredients

Salad

400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 cup pomegranate seeds

1 tbs olive oil

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

Pinch of salt

1/4 cup coriander leaves, roughly chopped

1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, roughly chopped

Koftas

500g minced lamb

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp smoked paprika

2 cloves garlic, grated

2 tsp chopped mint

salt and pepper

Spiced yoghurt

125g greek/plain yoghurt

½ clove crushed garlic

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp mint

squeeze lemon

salt to taste

Method

1. Soak 8 wooden skewers in cold water for up to 1 hour to prevent burning when cooking or use metal skewers.
2. In a large bowl, combine the lamb with the ground cumin, smoked paprika, most of the garlic and the dried mint and season to taste. Work the meat with your hands until sticky, then divide the mixture into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into slightly flattened sausage shapes and thread onto the skewers. Put to one side until you have made the salad & yoghurt.
3. Make the salad by mixing the chickpeas and pomegranate seeds in a small bowl. Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and some cracked black pepper and stir through the salad. Mix in the herbs.
4. For the dressing, combine yogurt, cumin seeds with the remaining garlic, fresh mint and lemon juice. Season to taste.
5. Preheat a griddle pan to a medium-high heat. Sear the lamb for 3-4 minutes on each side, then transfer to a plate to rest.
6. Place a dollop of the yoghurt on to a plate and smooth into a circle. Spoon some of the chickpeas on top and then finally place the kofta on top of that. Finish the plate with a little high quality olive oil.