These aromatic spiced lamb kofta flatbreads make the perfect grilled appetizer or a delicious summer dinner! The meat is flavored with hints of garam masala, curry, cumin and cayenne.
This recipe is brought to you in collaboration with the American Lamb Board. We are grateful for our partners! Their support that enables us to bring you beautiful free content every week!
Summer is grilling time here but lately I’ve been feeling like I’ve been hitting a bit of a grilling rut. I started making these amazing lamb kofta flatbreads these past few weeks to help mix things up and they have been a huge hit!
It took a couple of tries but I’m really in love with the spice mixture in these kebabs now. They are packed with all kinds of indian spices that meld together beautifully…cumin, garam masala, curry powder, cayenne and plenty of garlic and onion.
The kebabs grill up super nicely on the grill or if the weather turns south just snag a cast iron grill plate and grill them up inside. It might seem a little funny to go through all the effort of making a kebab and then cutting it up after, but it’s really the simplest way to get this mixture on the grill and keep it in one piece. Bonus: that crispy exterior is to die for.
But if (gasp) you are using a pan in the house, you can totally make these into meatballs too and get an almost equally delicious result without having to mess with kebab sticks. We really like to toss a handful of woodchips into our kettle grill and let the smoke pass over these so if you can, definitely breakout the grill. Totally worth it.
Speaking of worth it…let’s talk about lamb. First of all I’m always amazed at how many of my friends have never eaten lamb and/or who never cook with it at home! They usually say it’s too expensive or they just don’t know what to do with it.
Did you know that more than a third of American consumers have never tried lamb and many only eat lamb at restaurants or once or twice a year for special occasions?
Our annual per capita consumption of lamb in this country has remained steady for the past ten year at just ONE pound per person (compared to 65 pounds of beef!). This my friends, has got to change!
We discovered american lamb products in our local Fred Meyer last year and on a whim decided to start cooking with them. It’s blown our mind how interesting and exciting the flavors can be and how budget friendly it really is for a really incredible meal!
Because of this new found love, I reached out to partner with the American Lamb Board. I’m so excited that they were so eager to work with us today to bring you this recipe and to give us the chance to share a little bit more about their story.
In a nutshell the American Lamb Board helps represent over 80,000 American lamb family farmers and ranchers in every state. Their job is to let you know about what incredible farmers we have right here in the US, who work so hard everyday to produce this amazing product. (p.s. their website is also PACKED with incredible lamb recipes so go check that out!)
I have learned so much from them about American Lamb and wanted to share a couple points on why you should specifically seek out US produced lamb that I found super fascinating:
#1 It’s Fresher. American Lamb travels up to 10,000 fewer miles and about 30 days less than imported lamb. Local lamb is produced in nearly every state and available fresh year round.
#2 Bred primarily for quality meat. American Lamb is bred primarily for quality meat – not wool. Local lamb has a mild, yet distinctive flavor because of superior genetics and feed practices (AKA it’s delicious!)
#3 A good value. Sheep raised in the US tend to be larger and meatier, yielding more meat on the bone than imported lamb.
So great! We love keeping our food as local as possible and this was just one more reason for us to happily keep serving these lamb kofta flatbreads to all our willing guests haha.
I hope you make them soon and be sure to head over to AmericanLamb.com to snag even more incredible recipes to make lamb a part of your family meals soon! And right now check out Lambventures their new summer promotion where you can win all kind of fun prizes (including a large green egg grill and TONS of amazing lamb!).
Happy grilling!
- 2 lbs lamb
- 1 egg
- 1 onion, minced finely
- 2 slices of bread
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped finely
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Serving:
- 6 large flatbreads
- Cherry tomatoes
- Arugula
- ½ a large red onion, quick pickled (thinly sliced red onions tossed in ½ cup vinegar or lemon juice)
- Feta cheese
- Tzatziki sauce (recipe below)
- Soak wooden skewers in water (if using).
- Tear up the bread and pulse in a blender until small pieces. Alternatively chop finely.
- Combine all ingredients and mix with hands thoroughly. Form into kebabs around wooden skewers (if no grill is available meatballs can also be used and cook faster in a pan.)
- Grill until cooked through and little to no pink remains (they will continue cooking once removed for a few minutes).
- Grill flatbreads flipping once until toasted well.
- Cut up kebabs into bite sized pieces and top flatbreads with tzatziki, kofta meat, cherry tomatoes, arugula, red onions and feta cheese. Finish with fresh black pepper.
- 1 medium cucumber, peeled and small diced
- 1 cup Whole Milk Yogurt
- juice of ½ a lemon (to taste)
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic (or more if you love it!)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- cayenne pepper to taste if desired
- Mix together. Adjust seasoning to preferred taste.
You have just inspired me for this Sunday lunch ! I thank you for that !