Prep: 25 mins

Cook: 10 mins

Total: 30 mins

Mains

Middle Eastern, Moroccan

Servings 4 – 5 people

Recipe video above. The fragrance when these meatballs are cooking is outrageous! These meatballs are based on my fan-favourite Lamb Koftas, flavoured with a special blend of spices that smells so exotic but are everyday pantry staples!The Minted Yoghurt is fabulous – pairs so well with the flavour of these meatballs. See notes for suggestions for more sides – pictured in post stuffed in pita pockets.

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil (for cooking)

Meatballs:

• ▢ 500 g / 1 lb lamb mince (ground lamb) (Note 1)
• ▢ 1 small onion , grated using box grater (~1/2 cup, including juices, Note 2)
• ▢ 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs (sub ordinary)
• ▢ 1 egg
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• ▢ 1/4 cup coriander/cilantro leaves , finely chopped
• ▢ 1 1/2 tsp EACH cumin, coriander, paprika (any, but I like smoked paprika)
• ▢ 1/2 tsp EACH cinnamon, cayenne pepper (add more for spicy)
• ▢ 1 tsp cooking/kosher salt
• ▢ 1/4 tsp black pepper

Minted Yoghurt Sauce (Note 3):

• ▢ 3/4 cup plain yoghurt (I use Greek)
• ▢ 1/2 cup (tightly packed) mint leaves
• ▢ 2 tsp lemon juice
• ▢ 1/4 tsp cooking/kosher salt

To Serve as pockets:

• ▢ 4 pita pockets , Lebanese or pita bread
• ▢ 5 cups shredded lettuce (iceberg, cost/romaine)
• ▢ 2 tomatoes , halved, thinly sliced
• ▢ 1 red onion , halved, finely sliced
• ▢ OR Shredded Red Cabbage, Carrot and Mint Salad (instead of lettuce, tomato and onion)
• ▢ Extra coriander/cilantro leaves, finely chopped (optional)

Instructions

• Mint yogurt sauce – Set aside 1/2 cup yogurt. Place all other ingredients in a jug that fits the head of a stick blender. Blitz until it turns green – it will be runny. Stir in reserved yogurt (this thickens it again). Refrigerate until required.

• Meatballs – Place all Meatball ingredients in a bowl. Mix well with your hands. Measure out 1 heaped tablespoon, then roll into balls. Repeat with remaining mixture – should have 20 – 24 meatballs.

• Cook – Heat oil in a large non stick pan over medium heat. Add half the meatballs and cook, turning to brown all over, for 8 minutes, or until cooked through. Transfer to plate. (Oven option – Note 4)

• Serving – Cut pita pockets in half, warm for 10 seconds in the microwave, then pry it open. Stuff with lettuce, tomato, onion, then meatballs (I do 2 per half pocket). Drizzle with Mint Yogurt Sauce and fresh coriander.

Recipe Notes:

1. Meat – This recipe is also terrific with beef, and very good with chicken and turkey. No recipe adjustments. If baking the chicken or turkey meatballs, spray VERY well with oil!

2. Grating onion – Tried and proven, much loved technique for adding extra flavour into meatballs, keeping them soft, and avoiding the need to pre-cook diced onion. It works!

3. Minted yogurt – Blitzing / blending yogurt “breaks” it and makes it runny and very thin. Sometimes that’s what I want. But usually I want a bit of thickness. So to achieve that, blitz the mint with just some of the yogurt then stir the rest in later. Alternatives – Stir very finely chopped mint into plain yogurt. Or just use plain yogurt mixed with a bit of garlic, lemon juice and salt.

4. Oven option – avoid stove splatter and meatballs will stay more round but you won’t get as good browning on them without overcooking them. Preheat oven to Spray meatballs generously with oil then bake for 20 minutes at 220°C/450°F (200°C fan) until you get some light browning. Sometimes I put them on a rack to keep them round (spray rack with oil then put on a tray).

5. Suggested sides if you opt out of the pita pockets: The Shredded Red Cabbage, Carrot and Mint Salad is great as a side salad as well, this Middle Eastern chopped salad (skip the chickpeas), Israeli Couscous Salad, Pico de Gallo (I know it’s Mexican but the flavours are terrific paired with Middle Eastern), just the rice in this baked Chicken & Rice recipe, Chargrilled Vegetables, Lemon Pilaf (fab pairing!), Curried Basmati Rice Pilaf, this Chickpea Rice Pilaf, Fattoush. Because the meatballs are heavily spiced, opt for sides with fresh flavours. Nutrition assuming this serves 5 people, including 1 pita pocket per person and 1 1/2 tablespoons of lamb fat is discarded after cooking.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 241gCalories: 518cal (26%)Carbohydrates: 43g (14%)Protein: 26g (52%)Fat: 27g (42%)Saturated Fat: 12g (75%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0.004gCholesterol: 111mg (37%)Sodium: 973mg (42%)Potassium: 782mg (22%)Fiber: 5g (21%)Sugar: 7g (8%)Vitamin A: 1916IU (38%)Vitamin C: 21mg (25%)Calcium: 202mg (20%)Iron: 4mg (22%)