Juicy, fat little kofta kababs are easy, family-friendly, and if you make up the mix ahead of time, dinner can be ready in 10 minutes in your air fryer or oven. Make restaurant-style Kofta Kabab at home with a homemade spice mix, and by using the meat of your choice.
Every country has its own version of kababs or meatballs. And I think you can never have too much of grilled, meaty, spiced goodness, so I’m all for this! More kababs I say! All the time!
In fact, I do have several kabab recipes myself. Whether it’s the Indian Mint and Chile kebabs, the chicken bratwurst, the African Merguez meatballs, or heck, even the “Naked wontons“, I love them all.
This Kofta Kabab recipe is based on the kofta kabab spice mix I make. So I can’t really tell you what country these are from–they’re just…delicious kababs. Just eat them. That’s all you need to do.
The good news with these kofta kababs is that they are spiced, but not spicy. This makes them very family-friendly. My son Alex who was a super picky eater, devours these, as has every kid I’ve ever fed this to.
To make these airfryer kofta kababs, you need to make the kofta kabab spice mix and using a stand mixer, blend together the meat, spice mix and parsley. Do not skip this step–you need the meat proteins to bind together and become sticky so that the kofta holds its shape.
I used 80% ground beef but you can use any kind of meat you’d like including ground chicken, ground lamb, or a combination of beef and lamb which would be fabulous.
If you use lean ground meat such as venison, or bison, or turkey, you may need to add a little more oil and/or cook until just done and be very careful to not overcook.
TO SKEWER OR NOT TO SKEWER THESE AIRFRYER KOFTA KABABS?
Typically skewers serve two functions. Primarily, the metal inside the kabab helps cook the meat on the inside a little faster. Skewers also help the cook to transport and flip meats and vegetables.
The problem is that they don’t make great metal skewers for the airfryer. If they do, they’re not flat which is the right shape for these kababs. And let’s be honest—I suck at getting ground meat to obediently lie still on a skewer.
But in an airfryer, I wasn’t sure the little bamboo skewers would do any good with respect to either cooking or flipping. So I tried it both ways. No difference in taste—and a lot easier to make without skewers.
Then again, meat eaten off a stick always tastes better, so if you want to use 8-inch bamboo skewers, feel free. But they’re not needed for these airfryer kofta kababs.
EQUIPMENT YOU MAY NEED TO MAKE THIS AIRFRYER KOFTA KABAB RECIPE:
- Gowise Air Fryer or Breville Smart Oven Air or Philips Avance XL
- Measuring Cups
- My favorite Cutting Board
- Good set of Kitchen Knives
- Coffee grinder to make the kofta kabab spice mix
- Stand mixer to beat the heck out of the meat to make it sticky
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon (1 tablespoon) Oil
- 1 pound (453.59 g) Lean Ground Beef
- ¼ cup (15 g) Chopped Parsley
- 1 tablespoon (1 tablespoon) Minced Garlic
- 2 tablespoons (2 tablespoons) kofta kabab spice mix
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Salt
Instructions
- Using a stand mixer, blend together all ingredients. If you have time, let the mixture sit in the fridge for 30 minutes. You can also mix it up and set aside for a day or two until you're ready to make the kababs
- Although I tried this with and without skewers, it really makes no difference to the final product. Since it's a lot easier to simply shape the kababs by hand, divide the meat into four and make four long sausage shapes (or Pokémon shape or whatever you want).
- Place the kababs in your airfryer and cook at 370F for 10 minutes.
- Check with a meat thermometer to ensure that the kababs have an internal temperature of 145F.
- Sprinkle with additional parsley for garnishing and serve with tzatziki, a cucumber tomato salad, and pita bread.
To make in an oven
- Preheat the oven to 375F as you begin preparations.
- Line a small baking pan with foil and then place a rack inside the pan. Your kababs should be placed on the rack so that the fat drips down.
- You may choose to finish them off with a broil.
- I used 85% ground beef but you can use any kind of meat you'd like including ground chicken, ground lamb, or a combination of beef and lamb which would be fabulous.
- If you use lean ground meat such as venison, or bison, or turkey, you may need to add a little more oil and/or cook until just done and be very careful to not overcook.
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Nutrition
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon (1 tablespoon) Coriander Seeds
- 1 tablespoon (1 tablespoon) cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Whole Black Peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) Cardamom Seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) Turmeric
Instructions
- Using a coffee grinder, grind all seeds together until a fine powder has formed. I find it helpful to shake the grinder about like a mad woman, so the powders don't stick under the blades.
- This makes a batch large enough to season 2 pounds of ground meat, or about 3.5-4 tablespoons worth.
- Use to make these airfryer or oven kofta kababs
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Nutrition
Don’t forget to check out my Air Fryer Cookbook!
Every one of the recipes in this book can be made in an hour or less, and many are on the table in as little as 30 minutes. You won’t find “cream of anything” cans in the ingredient list: instead, you’ll start with fresh ingredients–healthful meats and vegetables–and let the air fryer do the hard work. Unleash the full potential of your Air Fryer and eat healthfully every night. 
Carol G
These Kofta Kabab were the best main dish I’ve ever made, and I am a good cook. I didn’t use skewers and used the oven baked method turning every 5 minutes. Just the best, thanks for the recipe!