Dad's Kifta Kebabs

This is one of the dishes that I beg for when I visit my parent's house in New Jersey. My dad is from Syria and I grew up enjoying many Arabic dishes that he cooked, like this one. This year I grilled these kebabs on my balcony in San Francisco for the fourth of July.

Kifta kebab is made with ground meat, usually lamb, which is mixed with spices, onions, and parsley for flavor. Do not confuse this with shish kebab, which is more common in the US and usually consists of chunks of meat and vegetables on a skewer. In my opinion, often the marinade used to make shish kebabs never quite penetrates to the center of the meat, and as a result they are far inferior to kifta kebab.

Usually the meat for kifta kebab is wrapped around a skewer for grilling. However, relatively recently my dad started making them in the same shape, without the skewer, like a fat hot dog or sausage. I've been told that the meat stays together better this way. There is also less cleanup, and as far as I can tell no compromise on taste, so I prefer this method.

The spices in kifta have a generally mild flavor, but they compliment the lamb perfectly. My dad serves with pita bread, a garlic yogurt sauce, and parsley or cilantro for sprinkling on top. (Actually he likes to sprinkle parsley and cilantro on top of pretty much everything but I think it works well in this case :-) ) I like to make a little pita bread sandwich out of it all.

Replicating a recipe from my dad is always interesting, as he has been cooking these dishes for years on feel, without actually measuring how much of each ingredient is added. I've estimated the amounts that I used when barbecuing last Wednesday, but feel free to experiment and add more or less of whichever ingredient is your favorite.

We enjoyed the kifta with a pilaf from one of my favorite food blogs and a tomato and cucumber salad

Here is what the kifta looks like:


And here is the recipe:

Dad's Kifta Kebabs

(Serves 4)

Kifta:
2 lbs. fatty ground lamb (or 50/50 ground beef and ground lamb), either way is delicious
1 Tablespoon allspice
1 Tablespoon paprika
1/4 cup parsley, cut very fine
1/4 cup onion, cut very fine
salt and pepper

Garlic Yogurt Sauce:
1 16 ounce tub of yogurt
1/4 cup cucumber, peeled and diced
1 garlic clove, crushed in a garlic press or very finely diced

Whole wheat pita bread
Chopped parsley or cilantro to garnish

For the yogurt sauce, mix the yogurt, cucumber, and garlic, and set aside for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.

Mix the lamb and spices and form into kebabs, approximately 5 inches long and just over 1 inch wide. Grill until the outer surface just begins to blacken, or until cooked through.

Heat the pita bread on the grill during the last minute of cooking. Then place the warm bread on a serving plate. Remove the kifta from the grill and place immediately on top of the warm bread, to allow the bread to absorb any excess juices from the meat.

Serve with the yogurt sauce and extra parsley or cilantro for garnish.