Skip to main content

Spiced Lamb Kefta Meatballs

Try the Persian version of lamb koftas with spice, pine nuts and currants. Ideal for sharing as part of a mezze meal.

By bbcfood · From Open Recipes · 11 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

Why it works: Turmeric and cumin match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,698 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓

Spiced Lamb Kefta Meatballs

Makes 14-16 meatballs
Prep30 min
Cook30 min

Ingredients

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

812Calories
38 gProtein
60 gFat
35 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 11 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Lamb100g cooked294
Pine Nut1 oz (28g)191
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Grape1/2 cup (76g)62
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Turmeric1 tsp ground (3g)9
Cumin1 tsp ground (2.1g)8
Cinnamon1 tsp ground (2.6g)6
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By bbcfood. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Turmeric + cumintop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,698 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  2. Cinnamon + cumintop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,103 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).

  3. Turmeric + cinnamontop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,197 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  4. Cumin + pinetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together73 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).

  5. Cinnamon + pinetop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together152 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the currant

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lamb, onion, turmeric, cinnamon, cumin, pine, nuts):

  1. Limefits better
  2. Avocadofits better
  3. Coconutfits better
  4. Currantthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against lamb, onion, turmeric, cinnamon, cumin, pine, nuts. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.