Egypt's grill-house kofta of beef or beef-lamb mix, seasoned with onion, parsley and cumin-forward spicing, always ordered as part of the 'kabab wa kofta' pairing with cubed lamb. Served on a bed of parsley with baladi bread and tahina.
Also known as: kofta masri, kofta mashwiya, kofta meshweya, kofta kebab, kofta wa kabab, Egyptian Kofta Meshweya, Egyptian kofta, kofta kebab Egypt
Watch it made
Ingredients
- 600 g beef mince, or half beef half lamb
- 1 onion, grated and squeezed
- 40 g parsley, finely chopped
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1.25 tsp salt and plenty of black pepper
- Baladi bread or pita
- Tahina sauce (tahini loosened with lemon, garlic and cold water)
How to make it
- 1
Knead all the meat ingredients together for a full 3 minutes; the paste should rope around your fingers.
- 2
Mold handfuls onto skewers in long, slightly flattened fingers, or shape free-form logs if grilling on a rack.
- 3
Charcoal-grill over strong heat 8-10 minutes, rolling a quarter turn as each face takes color.
- 4
Perch the cooked skewers on baladi bread while you finish the batch.
- 5
Serve with the juice-soaked bread, tahina, and a raw onion wedge on the side.
Pro tip: Egyptian grill houses lean hard on cumin and are not shy about it; underseasoned kofta tastes flat next to the tahina. Double what looks reasonable and taste-test one nugget in a pan first.
The story of Egyptian Kofta
Egyptian kofta is one half of the fixed pairing that defines Egyptian grill culture: kabab wa kofta, ordered together, weighed together, brought to the table together. Minced beef or a beef-lamb mix is seasoned with onion, parsley and a cumin-forward spice blend and grilled on flat skewers.
The kababgi — the dedicated grill restaurant — is an Egyptian institution, and the ordering ritual is specific: you order by weight, often at a butcher's counter attached to the restaurant, and it is grilled and brought out on a bed of parsley with baladi bread and tahina. Cairo's old kababgi districts operate this way still.
The technique that defines it
The mixture is more heavily onioned than its Levantine neighbours — Egyptian kofta carries a high proportion of grated onion, which keeps it soft and gives it its particular sweetness. As always the onion must be squeezed, but the quantity going in is greater than in a Lebanese kafta.
It is kneaded until tacky, chilled, and pressed onto wide flat skewers. Grilling is fast over hot charcoal. The finished skewers are laid on a bed of chopped parsley on the serving plate — not as decoration but so the hot meat wilts it slightly and the parsley picks up the fat, which is then eaten with the bread.
Choosing your ingredients
Beef, or beef and lamb mixed, at around 20 percent fat. Egyptian butchers will mince to order for kofta and add fat as asked. Grated onion in quantity, squeezed. Flat-leaf parsley chopped fine.
The spicing is cumin-forward with coriander, black pepper and a little cinnamon — warmer and less sweet than Levantine baharat, and distinctly more cumin than a Turkish mix. Baladi bread if you can get it; a wholemeal pita is the nearest substitute.
Mistakes that ruin it
Too little onion
Egyptian kofta is more heavily onioned than Lebanese kafta. It is what makes it soft and slightly sweet.
Failing to squeeze the onion
More onion means more water. Squeeze it hard or the mixture will not hold the skewer.
Under-cumining
Cumin is the Egyptian signature. A restrained hand gives you a Levantine kofta instead.
Skipping the parsley bed
The hot meat wilts it and it absorbs the fat. It is part of the eating, not the garnish.
How it is served
On a bed of chopped parsley with baladi bread, tahina, salad and pickled vegetables, ordered alongside kabab laham. Torshi (pickles) and a plate of raw onion. Tea afterwards. In a kababgi it is priced by the kilo and shared across the table.
Questions about Egyptian Kofta
What is kabab wa kofta?
The standard Egyptian grill order: cubed lamb (kabab) and minced skewers (kofta) together. They are ordered by weight and served on the same platter.
How is Egyptian kofta different from Lebanese kafta?
More onion, more cumin, and a spice profile that is warm and cumin-forward rather than the sweeter baharat of the Levant.
What is a kababgi?
An Egyptian grill restaurant, often with a butcher's counter attached, where you order meat by weight and it is grilled to order.
What is served with it?
Baladi bread, tahina, salad, pickles and a bed of chopped parsley under the meat.
