Turn ground beef into something special by making these super delicious Beef Moroccan Kefta served with fresh herb yogurt
Not mincing my words!
Are there items that you always chuck in your trolley as default when you do your weekly grocery shopping? My default items usually include milk, eggs, bread, yogurt and minced beef or pork. I most probably already have 3 packets of mince in my freezer, but I would still buy more out of habit.
Ground meat pleases my thrifty side because it’s relatively cheap to buy. It’s also versatile and easy to freeze and prepare.
My freezer is always full of minced meat, so I’m constantly looking for new creative recipes to use them in. I mean, meatballs, meatloaf, patties and bolognese are always welcome in our household, but I need variety. These Moroccan inspired Keftas definitely take beef mince to a whole new level!
Keftas is what Moroccans call koftas. Koftas are Middle Eastern meatballs made from ground meat, herbs and spices. Many other countries, such as Morrocco and India, have their own versions of Koftas.
You may see koftas shaped into dumplings, balls, patties on skewers. They’re usually grilled, bbq or pan-fried. I can’t go past charcoal bbq koftas, the smokey flavours are unbeatable!
To make these super flavourful Moroccan keftas we’ll be throwing beef mince, coriander, parsley, dried chillies and spices into a food processor. We then stick them on skewers, grill and serve them with a delicious herb yogurt sauce, flatbread, salad and pickles. OH SO YUM!
How’s this for a budget-friendly and creative beef mince dish? Simple, healthy and super tasty, this Moroccan keftas definitely ticks all my boxes!
Mary lost her little lamb
My husband, Tomasi, sings ‘Mary had a little lamb’ to our toddler, Kai, every night to distract him whilst brushing his teeth. The funny thing is, after hearing him sing it so many times, I still don’t know all the lyrics, so when it’s my time to sing it, I make up the lyrics as I go.
So poor Mary lost her little lamb, but it isn’t my fault because I don’t eat lamb!
Moroccan Kefta is usually made with lamb but I used beef as I can’t eat lamb. There’s something about the smell and taste of lamb that makes me want to dry heave. My ex once accused me of not eating lamb because they’re cute little baby sheep. That wasn’t the reason, but since he brought that up, it made the situation a lot worse.
Being a foodie and cooking addict, I didn’t like the idea of excluding food. Friends and families often served Lamb at functions. It was embarrassing for me to say ‘Oh, sorry I can’t eat lamb’ It would make everything awkward as they would feel terrible and so would I.
So I really tried to overcome my lamb phobia by trying different lamb dishes. However, regardless of how the lamb was cooked or what cuisine it was in, it wasn’t for me. To me, lamb has a bad overbearing potent smell and taste. I gave up and accepted that I just don’t like lamb.
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Oh Morrocco, we’ll see you one day!
Tomasi and I screamed in excitement and embraced. It was like we won the lottery but we hadn’t. Instead, we just booked our holiday trip to Morrocco for two weeks. This was back in 2018 when our toddler, Kai, wasn’t born yet and we would indulge in two overseas trips each year.
We counted down the days to our trip, and I bought modest clothing that was light and breathable so I wouldn’t faint in Morocco’s scorching heat.
Then this happened. Two months prior to our trip, our travel agent called me and said ‘I’m so sorry, but we have to cancel your trip to Morocco because we don’t have many people booked on your tour.’
So sadly, Morocco is a place we haven’t yet visited. Our travel agent gave us 20% off for our next tour, so we booked 1 week in Kerala, India for a week and Sri Lanka for 10 days. A few days before we were due to fly out to Kerala, our agent called us again to tell us that Kerala had severe flooding so they’ve closed their airport. This meant we also haven’t visited India either, but we made it to Sri Lanka!
Ingredients for Moroccan Kefta
Fresh breadcrumbs – I roughly chopped day old wholemeal bread and placed it into a food processor. However, any variety of bread will work as long as it’s more than a day old.
Beef mince (ground beef) – If possible, use quality mince with some fat, this will make the Keftas tender and flavourful. Using lean meat may dry out the keftas once they’re cooked. Lamb mince will also work in this recipe if preferred.
Dried chillies – I love dried chillies, not only for the heat but it also adds wonderful smoky flavours. This recipe calls for both chilli flakes and cayenne pepper, which makes the keftas moderately spicy. However, if you don’t want the keftas spicy, simply add less dried chillies or skip them altogether.
For the yogurt sauce
How to make Moroccan Kefta
Step-by-step guide with photos
Submerge 20 wooden skewers in the water for a few hours. This will prevent the skewers from burning when grilling the keftas.
For the yogurt herb sauce – Place the mint, coriander and garlic into a food processor, pulse until finely chopped. Then add in the yogurt, lemon juice and salt, pulse until combined. Give the sauce a taste and, if needed, mix in more salt or pepper. Transfer the yogurt sauce into a bowl, cover and refrigerate to allow the flavours to deepen.
Place all the kefta ingredients into a large food processor or you may need to process it in batches. Pulse and blend the ingredients together until it forms a sticky paste. Using your hands, grab approx. 1/3 cup of the meat mixture and place a skewer in the middle, shape the meat like a sausage along the skewer.
Grill, BBQ or pan fry the Moroccan Kefta
Grill, bbq or pan fry the keftas over high heat for 3 minutes on each side or until the meat has browned and cooked through.
Leftovers – Allow the keftas to cool completely at room temperature. Transfer the keftas into a sealed container and refrigerate, it’ll be good for up to 3 days. Frozen keftas will keep for up to 2 months.
These keftas are super delicious when served with this healthy Mediterranean Chickpea Salad or this beautiful and vibrant Potato and Pea Salad with Halloumi
Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements.
A Third-Party Application calculated the calories and nutritional information. Please use this as an approximate guide only.
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Cheers (I’ll drink to that) – Cat Tre
Moroccan Kefta with Beef and Herb Yogurt
Ingredients
For the yoghurt sauce
- 2 clove garlic
- 1 tbsp finely chopped mint
- 1 tbsp finely chopped coriander
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- ¼ tsp salt
- salt and pepper to taste
For the Kefta
- 1 kilo beef mince (ground beef) (NOTE 1)
- 4 clove garlic (minced)
- 1 large onion (roughly diced)
- 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs (NOTE 2)
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup coriander leaves (loosely packed)
- ½ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves (loosely packed)
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp smoked paprika (or any ground paprika)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp dried chilli flakes (NOTE 3)
- ½ tsp ground cayenne pepper (NOTE 3)
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- 1½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
For pan frying or grill plates
- olive oil (to fry or grease)
Instructions
- Submerge 20 wooden skewers in the water for a few hours. This will prevent the skewers from burning when grilling the keftas. For the yogurt herb sauce – Place the mint, coriander and garlic into a food processor, pulse until finely chopped. Then add in the yogurt, lemon juice and salt, pulse until combined. Give the sauce a taste and, if needed, mix in more salt or pepper. Transfer the yogurt sauce into a bowl, cover and refrigerate to allow the flavours to deepen.
- Place all the kefta ingredients into a large food processor or you may need to process it in batches. Pulse and blend the ingredients together until it forms a sticky paste. Using your hands, grab approx. 1/3 cup of the meat mixture and place a skewer in the middle, shape the meat like a sausage along the skewer.
- Grill, bbq or pan fry the keftas over high heat for 3 minutes on each side or until the meat has browned and cooked through.
