Spiced grilled beef and lamb kofta finished with a scatter of crisp fried chile for extra heat and crunch.
Kofta is a staple of Egyptian grilling, ground meat — typically a mix of beef and lamb — worked with grated onion, parsley and warm spices like allspice and cinnamon, then shaped onto skewers and grilled over charcoal until charred outside and juicy within. It's a fixture at Egyptian family barbecues and appears on nearly every grill restaurant's menu alongside kebab. A crispy fried chile topping isn't classic to traditional Egyptian kofta, which tends toward warm spice rather than sharp heat, but it's a popular modern addition at some Cairo grill spots looking to give the dish a spicier edge. The chiles are sliced thin and fried briefly in hot oil until blistered, then scattered over the finished kofta right before serving so they stay crisp against the juicy meat. The technique that matters most for the kofta itself is squeezing excess moisture from the grated onion before mixing it in — wet onion is the single biggest reason kofta falls apart on the grill — and chilling the shaped meat before cooking so it holds its form over open flame.
Serves 4
Combine ground beef, ground lamb, squeezed onion, parsley, allspice, cinnamon, cumin, salt and pepper. Knead well for 2 minutes.
Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes to firm up.
With wet hands, mold the meat around flat metal skewers into even sausage shapes.
Grill over medium-high charcoal or a grill pan, turning every 2 to 3 minutes, for 10 to 12 minutes total until charred outside and cooked through.
Heat remaining oil in a small pan until shimmering. Fry sliced chiles 1 to 2 minutes until blistered and crisp.
Slide the kofta off the skewers, scatter the crispy chile on top, and serve with lemon wedges and flatbread.
Squeeze the grated onion in a towel before mixing it in — excess moisture is the top reason kofta breaks apart on the grill.
Chill the shaped kofta before grilling; cold fat holds together far better than room-temperature meat over open flame.
Fry the chile topping right before serving so it stays crisp instead of wilting from the heat of the meat.
Use all beef or all lamb if you prefer a single-meat kofta rather than the traditional mix.
Skip the fried chile topping for the more classic, milder Egyptian version.
Serve over rice with a side of tahini sauce instead of in flatbread.
Refrigerate cooked kofta up to 3 days; reheat in a hot skillet to re-crisp the exterior rather than the microwave, which makes it rubbery.
Kofta is common across the Middle East and North Africa with regional variations in spice; the Egyptian version leans on warm spices like allspice and cinnamon rather than the cumin-forward blends found in some neighboring countries' versions.
Yes, bake at 220C on a wire rack for about 18 minutes, turning once, though you'll lose some of the charred grill flavor.
The onion was likely not squeezed dry enough, or the mixture wasn't chilled before shaping; both steps are essential for the meat to hold together over the fire.
Yes, skip the fried chile topping entirely — the kofta itself is only mildly spiced with warm spices, not chile heat.
Per serving (250g / 8.8 oz) · 4 servings total
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