Lamb Kofta and Carrot Tajine
Lamb Kofta and Carrot Tagine
Sometimes, when preparing posts for this blog I have little more than a delicious recipe and some enticing photos as evidence that I’ve actually cooked said recipe. I’ll sit in front of my laptop and um and ah through many ultimately deleted lines trying to compose a post.
Do my readers expect a back story to the recipe, do they expect a recipe at all? Could Please Pass The Recipe simply disappear because I was lost for words?
I can hear the disbelieving chortles from here. Those that know me well would never believe that silence is possible and I admit that generally I’m not shy of making myself heard especially if I have something significant to say.
Cooking comes to me much more naturally than writing. Cooking, along with eating is my favourite pastime. Food cooked with love always has a willing and appreciative audience, and that in itself is all the encouragement I need to keep me in the kitchen.
This dish I’ve cooked over and over and each time its a variation of the time before. With apologies to Greg Malouf I confess to having adapted, embellished, simplified and reinvented his vegetarian recipe for Carrot Tajine. Ironically this meatball version is my best effort yet.
Lamb Kofta and Carrot Tajine
for the kofta:
500g lamb mince
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon Turkish chilli flakes (pul biber)
2 teaspoons sea salt flakes
2 tablespoons dried breadcrumbs
Knead all the ingredients together with wet hands.
Roll into 3cm balls and chill until needed.
the sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic infused oil
3 cm ginger root, cut into fine julienne
2 large carrots (approx 300g) grated
2 sticks of celery, finely diced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 heaped teaspoon Turkish chilli flakes
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons currants
600mls vegetable stock
200g natural yoghurt
2 teaspoons cornflour
1 tablespoon finely diced preserved lemon
extra sea salt to taste
large bunch fresh coriander leaves roughly chopped
Heat the oils in a large pan.
Add the grated carrot, celery and ginger and saute over a medium heat until translucent.
Add the spices and saute briefly, then add the currants, sugar and stock.
Bring the stock to the boil, then gently slip the meatballs into the simmering pan.
Once the sauce has returned to the boil, cover the pan and reduce the heat to low.
Poach the meatballs for 30 minutes then skim off any fat that has floated to the surface of the sauce.
Mix the yoghurt and cornflour together and add it to the pan.
Increase the heat to medium and gently stir until the sauce is thick and creamy.
Stir through the preserved lemon, then adjust the seasonings.
Scatter the coriander over the surface and serve immediately with baby carrots, zucchini and couscous.
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22 comments on “Lamb Kofta and Carrot Tajine”
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Please Pass the Recipe by Sandra Gay is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Please Pass the Recipe 
This looks great. I like the grated carrot in the ‘sauce’.
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It really adds to the flavour and texture and is part of the original recipe
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Yes, I, too, know what it’s like to question whether it’s time to share a “work in progress” recipe. I’ve a few like that. Each iteration is a variation of all that came before. Even when published, I continue to “develop” the dish. I doubt, however, that any such development would be needed here, Sandra. This dish sounds perfect just as it is.
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Thanks John, I’ve used and abused the original recipe, but it’s sound enough to withstand assault
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Thanks for keeping it real….words don’t always come easily regardless of how articulate we may appear! I will be trying this for the lads….right up their alley.
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I Thanks Cheery. think any blogger who says differently is not being entirely honest.
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I know exactly what you mean Sandra! My process sounds remarkably similar to your own… sometimes that final piece of the puzzle (the backstory/anecdote) comes easily and almost writes itself and at the other times it’s more of a… sit there with fingers poised on the keyboard, with the mind twisting and turning as to how to make this elegant or funny or educational… or anything just to get it done and post and get on with life! 😉
Your koftas and tajine sound like something my family would love… can’t get enough of middle eastern spices. Enjoy your weekend!
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Spot on Margot, finding a meaningful personal voice through writing is quite a challenge.
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How absolutely wonderful and copiable! And methinks most if us want a recipe to try but also very much a personal story alongside! Was hugely amused on a well-known Sydney blog when someone with a sore head told the blogger ‘to cut the waffle and get onto the recipe’ !! And the normally peaceful readers went kind;of berserk virtually telling her to . . . well, you know!
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I hear you Eha, and I like the personal connection of reading blogs too. I guess our audience sticks with us if they like what they see/read and will eventually move on if they become disgruntled. Having blog followers take ownership is a whole new level of loyalty 😃
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Sandra – as you would well know blog followers become blog-buddies and then quietly but immutably become friends . . . that surely is the best part . . .
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Your posts are so articulate and enjoyable I would never guess you sometimes are at a loss for words. The recipe sounds and looks delicious.
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Thanks Ardys, you’re very kind. 😘
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Hi. This looks very good, will have to put it on my list to try and look forward to following more of your posts.
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Hi, and welcome. I hope you enjoy what you see and feel inspired to cook too
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My stomach is rumbling! That sounds delicious.
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Thanks Linda, a yummy dinner…
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Ah, you’re coming in to fall, aren’t you?!! This is lovely. I love that the lamb is in the form of meatballs.
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This was really delicious, warm spices and lamb are delicious together
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The vast time bloggers spend gazing at their keyboards wondering what’s next is, I believe, a well keep a secret. But, then again when my blogging mind goes blank, it’s a grand time to comment on a post. So, here I am. Your adapted kofta and carrot tajine sound amazing. A must cook…
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Ah, a man in the know. Hope inspiration comes to you soon
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Excuses, excuses, Ron 🙂 ! So is that the reason the promised prawn pancake recipe ex-Lund sources has not appeared in my letterbox yet ?
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