Air Fryer Lamb Koftas

Koftas have become one of my go-to dinners as they make the perfect meal wrapped in a pitta, topped with any of your favourite combinations of mint yogurt, pickled onions, chillies and anything else your heart desires. They are always a crowd-pleaser and, thanks to the air fryer, can be an even simpler and quicker meal to make for the whole family. Serve all the elements on the table and just let everyone go mad assembling the wraps themselves. Please note, this recipes requires 1 hour of marination time. Adapted from 'Poppy Cooks: The Actually Delicious Air Fryer Cookbook', published by Bloomsbury.

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Ingredients

fennel seeds ½ tsp
black peppercorns ½ tsp
coriander seeds ½ tsp
garlic cloves 1 (crushed)
lamb mince 500 g
ground cinnamon ¼ tsp
cayenne pepper ½ tsp
pitta 4
natural yoghurt to serve
pickled red cabbage to serve

Method

Prep the whole spices

Heat a small frying pan over a medium heat. Add the fennel seeds, black peppercorns and coriander seeds, toast for 30 seconds. Tip the toasted spices into a mortar and crush with a pestle.

Prep the koftas

Peel and crush the garlic. In a large bowl combine the lamb mince, crushed spices from step 1, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, garlic and season with salt and pepper.
Mix thoroughly using your hands. Leave to marinate in the fridge for an hour or overnight.

Preheat the air fryer

Preheat the air fryer to 200°C.

Make & cook the lamb koftas

To make the kofta: roll the lamb mixture into balls, each about the size of a golf ball (2 per serving). Shape the balls into elongated ovals (like a squashed rugby ball), if you like – or leave them as balls.
To cook the kofta: brush each kofta with some oil and place in the air fryer basket, leaving some space between each kofta (you may need to cook in batches, depending on the size of your air fryer). Cook for 9-10 minutes, turning halfway through until golden and cooked through.

Assemble the dish & plate up

Heat the pittas as per packet instructions.
Serve the koftas with the pitta, yoghurt and pickled red cabbage. Enjoy!

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