Smashed Beef Koftas with Yogurt Sauce

Name: Smashed Beef Koftas with Yogurt Sauce
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Ingredients: 1 tbsp olive oil; 500g / 1 lb beef mince ((ground beef) (Note 1)); 1 large onion (, peeled, kept whole); 2 tsp cumin powder; 2 tsp coriander powder; 2 tsp paprika (, sweet/regular); 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon; 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (, optional (for a bit spicy)); 1 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt ((halve for table salt, +50% for flakes)); 1/4 cup walnuts (, crumbled into large pieces with your hands - or chopped almonds or pecans); 2 tbsp dried cranberries ( or raisins); 1 large Lebanese cucumber ((Persian cucumbers), about 25cm/10" long); 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt (, full-fat); 3 tbsp finely sliced mint (, plus extra for sprinkling (substitute coriander/cilantro, or 2 tsp dried mint in yogurt sauce)); 1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt; 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses ((balsamic glaze is an excellent substitute - Note 2)); Pita bread (, warmed); Extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

Prep:15minCook:10min

Recipe video above. This is the best new thing I've found to make with a packet of beef mince! It's a streamlined take on koftas where spiced ground beef is cooked in raggedy chunks rather than threading on skewers. Based on the wildly popular New York Times Cooking's Smashed Beef Kebab With Cucumber Yogurt By Zaynab Issa, it's impressively fast, incredibly delicious, and there's so many ways to serve it! The original recipe is spiced with just turmeric, I wanted more kofta spicing so I used the spice mix from my Lamb Koftas. The smell when it's cooking is amazing!

Updated at: Mon, 19 Oct 2026 05:33:31 GMT