Kofta in Tahini Sauce: More On This Middle Eastern Sauce
Image Credit: YouTube @ALWASFA

Koftas are round, ball shaped meatballs or meatloaf dishes deep fried in oil. The mixture of these balls is usually made up of minced meat, usually beef, pork, lamb, mutton, chicken. Vegetarian version of this dish is also available where the mixture is prepared with ingredients like gram flour and finely chopped vegetables. This dish is found in Anatolian, Middle Eastern, South Asian, South Caucasian, Balkan and Central Asian cuisines. The other ingredients which are added to the Kofta mixture are some basic spices and seasonings. The first appearance of recipes for kofta are in the earliest Arab cookbooks. 

Koftas are a round version of Kebabs but a little more soft and tender. Both Kofta and Kebab are of a persian origin Kebak and became famous in Turk. 

Though Koftas are ball shaped, here a different version of the recipe is shared which is a healthier version of koftas, as they are not deep fried in oil but baked in the oven. The koftas are not round in shape but flat because baking the kofta mixture along with the sauce requires it to have a different texture so that the koftas could hold the moisture of the sauce.

Tahini and it’s Origin

Tahini is a Middle Eastern sauce which is made from ground roasted hulled sesame. It is used to add flavours to any dish and make it more flavoursome. It is served as a major ingredient in hummus, ghanoush and halva. 

It has been cultivated for a long time in India, somewhat around 5000 BC and is grown in all the different regions all across the globe. As it is found out that Ethiopia generates the best sesame seeds. Tahini is majorly used in the cuisines of the Levant and Eastern Mediterranean, the South Caucasus, as well as parts of North Africa. It is called by different names in different regions. The health benefits and the strong nutty flavours of Tahini Sauce makes it a special dish to be paired up with the other dishes. The sauce multiplies the taste if served with koftas, chicken, hummus, meat keemas. 

Ingredients:

  • 500 gms Minced Beef or lamb
  • 1 cup minced Parsley
  • 2 Tbsp Olive oil
  • 1 Medium Onion
  • 1 Medium Tomato
  • 1 Medium Potato
  • 1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
  • 1 Ts Middle Eastern AllSpice
  • 1 Cup Tahini Paste
  • 2 Lemons (juiced)
  • ¼ cup Pine Nuts
  • 2 Cup Boiling Water
  • 1 Cup Yoghurt
  • 1 Tbsp Dry Mint

Methods of Preparation:

For the Kofta Preparation

  1. Take a mixing bowl and add half a kilo of minced meat, finely chopped onions, finely chopped parsley, tomato, olive oil and add all the spices (1 tsp black pepper, salt, 2 tsp whole mixed spices, a dash of cardamom) and mix it all well so that they combine properly
  2. The kofta mixture is ready 
  3. Take it all out on a flat baking tray and spread evenly giving it a good flat, rectangular shape
  4. Create some hollow space poking the mixture with a finger
  5. Put it in the oven to bake it for 20 minutes

For Tahini Sauce

  1. Take a mixing bowl again and add a cup of tahini paste, juice of two lemons, 2-3 cloves of minced garlic, a pinch of salt and one cup of yoghurt; whisk it well to combine and settle
  2. Add two cups of water to the sauce mixture but gradually to avoid creating lumps
  3. Add dry mints and whisk again
  4. The sauce is ready to be poured over the baked koftas
  5. Put potato and tomato slices over the kofta
  6. Pour tahini sauce all over the koftas to get soaked in
  7. Cover it with an aluminium foil sheet and bake it again for 15 minutes
  8. Garnish it with toasted pine nuts and few parsley

The delicious koftas are ready to be served on your dinner plates.