Lamb Koftas with Mint & Yoghurt Dressing

Name: Lamb Koftas with Mint & Yoghurt Dressing
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: Olive oil; Onion; Garlic cloves; Cumin seeds; Chilli flakes; Minced lamb; Mint leaves; Parsley leaves; Lemon juice; Natural yoghurt; Toasted cumin seeds; Mint leaves

Ingredients

Olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely diced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground
Chilli flakes, to taste
500g minced lamb
2 tbsp chopped parsley leaves
2 tbsp chopped mint leaves
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the dressing

Small bunch of mint, leaves only
½ tsp toasted cumin seeds
2–3 tbsp natural yoghurt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp lemon juice

Cooking instructions

Serves 4

Place a small frying pan over a medium heat and add a dash of oil. When hot, sauté the onion and garlic until tender. Add the cumin seeds and chilli flakes and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.
Put the lamb into a mixing bowl, add the onion mixture and chopped herbs along with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix well with your hands.
Roll the lamb mixture into pieces the size of golf balls and flatten them into patties about 1 cm thick. Place on a plate drizzled with a little oil, and drizzle the tops of the patties with more oil, ready for cooking. Cover and chill for about 10 minutes to firm up.
Meanwhile, make the dressing. Put the mint into a mortar and bash it with the pestle to bruise it. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary, then transfer to a serving bowl.
Place a griddle pan over a medium high heat. When hot, griddle the koftas for 5–6 minutes, turning halfway through so that both sides are well browned.
Serve the koftas warm with the dressing on the side.

Gordon Ramsay
Ultimate Home Cooking
By Hodder & Stoughton
Text © Gordon Ramsay 2013
Photography © Con Poulos 2013