Air Fryer Koftas

Cook the most delicious Kofta kebabs quickly and easily in your air fryer. This traditional Egyptian Kofta recipe is so rich and flavorful, and cooking it in the air fryer keeps the beef wonderfully juicy.

Course Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine Egyptian

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 18

Total Time 33

Servings koftas

Calories 136kcal

Author Slow The Cook Down

Equipment

Ingredients

For the koftas

16 ounces ground beef (20% fat) (454g)
1 large onion
1 bunch fresh parsley
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon 7 spice
1 tablespoon cornflour
1 tablespoon baking powder

For the glaze

liquid from the diced onion
2 tablespoons primavera pasta sauce
1 tablespoon honey
pinch salt and pepper

To serve

1 bunch parsley (finely chopped)
tahini sauce

Instructions

Make the kofta mix

Place the beef in a large mixing bowl.
Dice the onion very finely, either by hand or using a vegetable chopper. Place the chopped onion in a piece of muslin or thin towel and squeeze out any excess water into a small bowl and place to one side.
Add the onion to the beef, and place in the rest of the ingredients for the koftas.
Mix everything together very well with your hands. Knead the mixture together as if you were making bread. The mixture should be quite stiff.

Make the glaze

In the bowl that you squeezed the moisture from the onion, add in the rest of the glaze ingredients and mix together.

Form the koftas

Line your air fryer basket with parchment paper.
Use your hands to rub a little of the glaze on the skewer.
Take some of the meat and roll into a ball in your hands. Larger than a golf ball, but smaller than a tennis ball.
Use your hands to wrap the meat around the skewer into a sausage shape. Smooth the outsides and make sure it is a solid shape.
Rub a little more of the glaze over the surface of the kofta and then place in the air fryer basket.
Repeat this process until you have used up all of the meat.

Air fry the koftas

Air fry the koftas at 400F / 200c for 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes, brush the glaze over the top of the koftas.
Air fry at 400F / 200c for 5 minutes.
Carefully turn the Koftas over in the air fryer. Brush more glaze on top.
Air fry at 400F / 200c for 5 minutes.
Brush more glaze on top.
Air fry at 400F / 200c for 3 minutes.
Serve on a bed of chopped parsley with tahini for dipping.

Notes

- Mix the beef and seasonings together really well with your hands. Knead it like dough for a couple of minutes to get the correct texture and make sure that the ingredients are well distributed.

- The onion needs to be chopped very finely, and a vegetable chopper is ideal for this.

- If you find that the meat mixture is too wet and is falling away from the skewer when you form it, mix in a teaspoon of breadcrumbs. It won't alter the flavor, but will absorb any excess moisture.

- Make sure that the koftas are of a similar thickness so that they cook evenly. It's ok if they are different lengths.

- You will need to turn the koftas in the air fryer half way through cooking. Do this gently with a fork as they can be quite delicate at this stage.
- Cook the koftas in a single layer in the air fryer, don't overlap them. You may need to cook them in two batches if you have a smaller model.

Nutritional values are an estimate.

Nutrition