Lamb Koftas and Tzatziki Yogurt Dip
Lamb Koftas and Tzatziki yogurt dip is a fresh and tasty summer meal that’s packed full of flavour. Serve alongside my Greek Salad recipe for the perfect summer meal.
Equipment
- Small mixing bowl
- Teaspoon
Ingredients
- Koftas:
- 500 grams lamb mince 1 lb ground lamb
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt or garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion salt or onion powder
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- salt & pepper
- Tzatziki Yogurt Dip:
- 8 tablespoons Greek yogurt 250g / 8.8oz
- 100 grams cucumber half a cucumber / approx. 3.5oz
- 1 handful fresh mint leaves
- ¼ teaspoon garlic salt
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add all of the spices for the lamb koftas into a bowl and mix together well.
- Place your lamb mince (ground lamb) into a large baking dish.Add the spice mix to the lamb and use your hands to combine it all well.
- Divide the lamb into balls or oval shape portions. 500 grams (1 pound) of lamb mince can be divided into roughly 12 koftas.
- Drizzle the lamb koftas with olive oil and place in a preheated oven for 20 minutes at 180°C / 350°F. Turn halfway through to ensure they are cooked evenly.Whilst your lamb koftas are cooking, make your tzatziki yogurt dip.
- Chop up a few fresh mint leaves into small pieces.
- Remove the skin from the cucumber and chop into small pieces.
- Add the yogurt, garlic salt, salt and pepper to a bowl and mix in the fresh mint and cucumber.NB: Garlic salt can quickly become quite overpowering, so add a bit at a time and then taste it to see if you want to add the full 1/4 teaspoon amount suggested above.Allow the Tzatziki to sit whilst the lamb koftas finish cooking.
- After 20 minutes in the oven the lamb koftas should be ready to serve.
- Serve the Lamb Koftas with the Tzatziki and a Greek Salad for a fresh and tasty summer meal.
Notes
Koftas –
Koftas are spiced oval shaped meatballs. They can also be served on kebab skewers.
Lamb mince, otherwise known as ground lamb, can be slightly more expensive than beef or chicken. If you wanted to substitute the lamb for beef or chicken mince instead this recipe would still work well with either of those.
Once cooked, the lamb koftas can be eaten hot or cold.
I have kept this recipe as easy as possible by using dried herbs and spices for the koftas. But you can use freshly grated onion and garlic, if you prefer.
Whilst you can cook lamb koftas in a frying pan or on a barbeque, I find the most hands off and easiest way to make them is in the oven.
Using a frying pan or barbeque to reheat the koftas is however a good shout.
Tzatiki –
Tzatiki is a cool and fresh tasting yogurt sauce that originates from Greece.
Fresh dill is sometimes used instead of mint and traditional recipes also include olive oil and lemon juice.
I have tried to make this recipe as quick, easy and tasty as possible. So I’ve scaled back slightly on the ingredients and skipped out grating the cucumber and straining out the excess water.
Just be sure to chop up your cucumber pieces nice and small and it will taste great.
Add in a squeeze of lemon juice if you have one on hand, or just leave it out like I do.
Greek yogurt is traditionally used to make Tzatiki, but you can use natural yogurt instead. It just won’t be quite so thick and creamy.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Nutrition
Calories: 440kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 17g | Trans Fat: 0.003g | Cholesterol: 93mg | Sodium: 1395mg | Potassium: 375mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 77IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 73mg | Iron: 3mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!