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Urfa kebabı
Urfa kebabı: mild, juicy hand-minced lamb kebab from Şanlıurfa, grilled with tomatoes and peppers
Where Adana's kebab is hot, Şanlıurfa's is gentle: lamb and tail fat chopped by hand with a curved zırh blade, seasoned with salt and a little isot and pressed onto wide skewers. Grill houses around Balıklıgöl serve it on thin lavaş with charred tomatoes, peppers, sumac onions and a bostana salad, and the sweet smoke of the meat is the whole point. Without tail fat, ask your butcher for fatty lamb shoulder mince, around 25% fat, or the kebab will be dry and fall off the skewer. Chef's tip: wet your hands with cold water while shaping; the fat stays firm and the meat clings to the skewer.
- Total time
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the kebab
To serve
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What you'll need
Fresh ingredients (4)
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Put 1 ½ lb coarse fatty lamb shoulder mince (about 25% fat) on a board with ½ red pepper, 2 tsp isot (Urfa chilli flakes), 1 ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper and chop through with a heavy knife for 5 minutes, folding, until sticky and evenly mixed.
5 minStep 2: Chill for 20 minutes so the fat firms up.
20 minStep 3: Divide into 8 and, with wet hands, squeeze each portion along a wide flat skewer into a 20 cm kebab, pressing ridges with your fingers.
Step 4: Toss 1 red onion with 2 tsp sumac and ½ oz flat-leaf parsley.
Step 5: Grill over hot charcoal or under a very hot grill for 8–10 minutes, turning often, until browned and cooked to at least 160°F in the thickest part. Grill 4 tomatoes and 4 long green peppers alongside until blistered.
10 minStep 6: Lay the kebabs on 4 lavaş flatbreads, pull out the skewers and serve with the grilled vegetables and sumac onions.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 640 kcal
- Protein
- 36 g
- Carbs
- 42 g
- Fat
- 37 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does urfa kebabı take?
- About 40 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of red pepper?
- Any colour of bell pepper, same amount.
- What can I use instead of tomatoes?
- Tinned chopped tomatoes: a 400g tin for about 6 tomatoes (in cooked dishes, not salads).
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