Beef Kofta Kebabs with Mango & Mint Raita
You can make these with minced lamb instead of beef if you prefer, and they are great cooked on the barbecue, too. Just remember, don’t use extra-lean mince for these kebabs. The extra fattiness of ordinary mince will help keep them nice and moist during cooking.
Method
Cover 12 bamboo skewers with cold water and leave them to soak for 20 minutes.
Put the onion into a food processor and blend until very finely chopped. Tip into a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients (apart from the oil), 1⁄2 teaspoon of salt and some cayenne pepper and mix together really well with your hands.
Divide the mixture into 12 equally sized pieces, then shape roughly into sausages. Push a soaked skewer up through the middle of each sausage and squash it more firmly onto the sticks.
For the raita, peel the mango, then slice the flesh away from the stone. Cut it into small pieces and mix with the rest of the ingredients and a little salt to taste.
Heat a ridged or heavy-based frying pan over a high heat until smoking hot. Reduce the heat to medium-high, brush the kebabs with a little oil and cook for 4–5 minutes, turning now and again until nicely browned and cooked through.
Serve with the mango and mint raita.
Ingredients
- 1 small onion, cut into chunks
- 750 g (11⁄2 lb) minced beef
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1⁄2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2.5 cm (1 inch) fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
- 2 tablespoons whole-milk natural yoghurt
- a little sunflower oil, for brushing
- salt and cayenne pepper
- For the Mango & Mint Raita
- 1 small ripe but firm mango
- 175 g (6 oz) whole-milk natural yoghurt
- 1 tablespoon sieved mango chutney
- the leaves from 1 x 20-g (3⁄4-oz) packet mint, chopped