İnce Köfteli İskender Kebabı (Thin Lamb Köfte Patties & Bread Kebab with a Tomatoey, Yoghurt Sauce)

Ok, what are you having for dinner tonight, because I’ve combined two recipes to bring you a GORGEOUS takeaway kebab idea perfect for tonight. This is like an İskender and Köfteli Pide recipe in one. You can use chicken (thigh) mince or beef mince instead (don’t use lean, they’ll be dry as), but the flavour of the lamb is #chefskiss - you can watch the recipe reel here 

RECIPE - Serves 4-6

For the “İnce Köfte” (thin lamb patties)

500g lamb mince 

1 large / 2 small white onions, peeled and coarsely grated

25g fresh flat leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped 

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp coarse black pepper

1 tsp ground cumin 

1tsp pul biber 

+ 1tsp olive oil for frying with 

For the Tomato Sauce 

2 tbsp olive oil

60g (4tbsp) tomato purée 

45g (3tbsp) tatlı biber salçası (sweet (mild) red pepper paste 

1 tsp pul biber

1 tbsp caster sugar

300ml boiling hot water 

TO SERVE 

50g melted butter, hot and sizzling

1 large Turkish Pide (ramazan pide / tırnak pide) cut into 2cm cubes (you can bake or fry the bread cubes in butter before serving if you like a crunchier consistency) 

Natural Yoghurt  / Süzme (strained) yoğurt

Grilled sivri biber and halved tomatoes 

METHOD

Combine and mix all the köfte ingredients together really well until fully amalgamated. Divide into 28-30 equal sized balls. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

To make the sauce, add the olive to a small pan and place on the hob over a medium heat. Once hot, add both pastes, breaking them up into the hot oil, stirring constantly. Once the pastes have soaked up the oil, add the pul biber and sugar then carefully pour in the boiling hot water stirring continuously. Bring up to a boil, let it thicken slightly, then take off the heat and pop on the lid. 

Take the köfte mixture out of the fridge. Place once of the balls in between two small pieces of parchment paper then press it down with a flat bottomed plate until it is as thin as possible without breaking. Place on a place and repeat with the remaining köfte balls. 

Place a large, shallow frying pan on the hob over a medium heat and brush with 1 tsp olive oil. Once the oil is hot, fry the “ince köfte” in batches (I can usually fit 4-5 in the pan at any one time), for around a minute on each side until crispy and golden. Remove to a place lined with foil and wrap them up to keep hot whilst you cook the remaining ones. 

To serve, place 8-10 of the bread cubes on a plate, drizzle with a little of the hot butter, top with a few of the ince köfte, then the tomato sauce, followed by more butter and serve with a large dollop of the yoghurt, the grilled pepper and onion, a salad, and a sprinkling of sumac and pul biber.