Kafta Mishwiyya
Region: Arab Levant, Lebanon
Category: Lamb-Grilled
Season: Any
Difficulty: Easy
Kafta is very
finely ground spiced lamb meat molded around a skewer that is grilled. Traditionally, it is a typical offering of
Lebanese grill restaurants 
that use flat metal skewers that look like swords. It is also a popular street food throughout Lebanon, Syria,
Palestine, and Jordan. In the late Middle Ages, a Damascene
housewife from a comfortable background might have refused the hard work of
making her own bread and other food at home.
If she did not have a household servant, her husband had to provide her
with prepared food bought in the market as part of her support. Typical among prepared foods were a variety
of pickled vegetables, breads, fritters, sweets, and grilled foods such as kafta.
The meat for the kafta is well blended and molded by hand around the skewers. The skewers are fitted on a skewer holder, a rectangular metal frame with notches to fit the skewers so that the meat is suspended and never actually touches any part of the grill, then they are grilled over charcoal fires. It always looks very appetizing, smells terrific, and is best eaten in a wrap of thin Arabic bread such as marqūq or shrak flatbread often sold with the Armenian name lavash bread.
[photos: Clifford
A. Wright]
Yield: Makes 6 to 8 servings
Preparation Time: 40 minutes
3 pounds ground lamb, cut from the neck or shoulder
3 medium to large onions, grated
1 cup very finely chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon bahārāt
2 teaspoons freshly ground allspice berries
1 teaspoon freshly ground cumin seeds
1 teaspoon freshly ground coriander seeds
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
8 flat metal skewers
Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
For the garnish
½ cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley leaves
5 ripe plum tomatoes, chopped
1 large red onion, chopped
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon sumac
¼ cup finely chopped fresh mint leaves
6 to 8 large loaves flatbread or pita bread
1. In a large bowl, knead together the lamb, onions, parsley, bahārāt, allspice, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, salt, and pepper until well blended, using wet hands to keep the meat from sticking. Transfer to a food processor in batches and process until the meat is smooth and pasty. Leave the meat to marinate in the refrigerator for 2 to 6 hours.
2. Preheat a gas grill for 20 minutes on low or prepare a
charcoal fire and let it die down a bit.
3. Take a handful of meat and press it around a skewer, forming the meat so it surrounds the skewer. Moisten the meat with some olive oil, place the skewers on the skewer holder, and grill until golden brown and springy to the touch, about 30 to 40 minutes. Keep the skewers turning, as if on a rotisserie (or use a roto-kebab if you have one).
4. Toss all the garnish ingredients together. Unfold the lavash bread to an appropriate size or slice a flatbread in half and open up the pocket. Remove the meat to the bread pocket and sprinkle on some garnish. Roll up and eat.
Variation:
Note:
Posted: 06/25/2014
Needed Recipes:
Baharat-Mixed Spices for Syrian, Lebanese, and Palestinian Cooking
Referenced Recipes:
Baharat-Mixed Spices for Syrian, Lebanese, and Palestinian Cooking