Air Fryer cooked, ground seasoned Lamb, wrapped in a large tortilla, and garnished with fresh veggies and micro greens to make this surprisingly easy Kofka Wrap.
Kofka or ‘pounded meat’ is a Persian dish popular around the world. There are so many approaches to making Kokfa, with different ingredients used, depending on the region the Kofka originates. Every recipe starts with ground meat. Different seasonings such as saffron, mint and garlic are next. Possible additional ingredients are egg, rice and breadcrumbs. Shaped into a meatball, meatloaf or classic oval shape, skewered, grilled, or served with sauce. With so many variations of Kofka, clearly this meat dish is very popular!
As this recipe is for a Kofka Wrap, a tortilla wraps the Air Fried seasoned lamb along with sliced vegetables and greens.
Ingredients
- Lamb: ground, fresh.
- Tortillas: large, flour.
- Onion: whole, yellow.
- Olive oil.
- Parsley: flat leaf / Italian.
- Garlic: fresh.
- Herbs and spices: coriander, turmeric, cumin, mint, salt and pepper.
Instructions
Grind any whole herbs and spices to a finer texture.
Peel and grate the onion.
Put the grated onion in a sieve and using a spoon, press the pulp. Discard the onion juice of better yet, freeze it and add to your next beef stew, chili or soup.
Grate the garlic cloves and chop the parsley.
Put the ground lamb, and all the herbs, spices and seasonings in a bowl.
Add the grated onion and garlic and parsley and mix.
Form the meat into a round mound and roughly quarter it. With floured hands, scoop out a quarter of the lamb and roll it into a cylinder shape to form a sausage.
Place into air fryer and brush or spray with oil. Air fry for a total of 16 minutes, 8 minutes each side, at 350 degrees F, or until the lamb reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees F using a digital thermometer.
Place the lamb sausage onto a tortilla, and garnish with all of your favorite salad ingredients. I used pickled onions, as well as mini bell peppers, mini cucumber slices, radish slices, cherry tomato halves and micro greens. In addition to the vegetables, serve a mint and dill yogurt sauce along with it. Drizzle this sauce over the lamb. Your Kofka Wrap is now complete!
Flexibility
Instead of ground lamb, substitute it with any ground meat. You may want to change the herbs and spices to better match your meat choice.
Choose your favorite herbs and spices that match lamb. Typical herbs and spices include the ones in this recipe along with cayenne, chili powder, cumin, mustard powder, paprika and even nutmeg.
Add any type of fresh green herbs that you like, in particular cilantro and fresh mint.
If you want to cut down on calories or gluten, omit the tortillas and consider wrapping the lamb in lettuce or steamed cabbage leaves.
Remember any changes and substitutions made to the original Kofka Wrap will change the taste, look and nutritional value.
Uses for Kofka Wrap
Kofka Wraps are an ideal lunch option for kids and adults alike. They roll up and store well in most lunch boxes and are such a welcome change to the usual PB&J sandwiches.
Storage
Store the lamb, tortilla and salad ingredients separately. Freeze the lamb portion for up to 6 months. Defrost the lamb overnight in the refrigerator. Store the lamb in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. I like to use a resealable bag to store the lamb in.
Reheat refrigerated or previously frozen lamb in the air fryer, until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F. on a digital thermometer.
A Tip From Me
Experiment with herbs and spices. With this recipe for a Kofka Wrap, the herbs and spices included are my personal choice, but feel free to add what you like. Go to the bulk section in your local supermarket. Take a teaspoon or two of various herbs and spices and include them in your home recipes. It won’t take long for you to decide which ones you prefer.
For inspiration on what spices and herbs are included in Kofka, scroll down to the ‘Got Questions’ section. Here you will see all the different countries that make Kofka and what flavorings they include when making this dish.
Above all, remember it’s your kitchen – go ahead and experiment!
Got Questions?
I’ve got answers- hopefully!
It can be, but as this dish is claimed by many countries, Kofka can be grilled on a metal skewer, oven cooked or air fried like this recipe.
Kofka can be served as a meal with basmati rice, naan bread, chutneys, curry and yogurt based sauces, and grilled eggplant.
There are a lot of countries known for making Kofka. See the table below.
Countries Where Kofka is Prepared and Served
| Country: | How each country’s Kofka varies: |
| Iran | Known as Koofeh, these are large meatballs, stuffed with dried fruits and nuts, that hail from the city of Tabriz. |
| Egypt | these Kofka typically are made with parsley, onion, garlic and spices such as chili and cardamon. |
| Greece | the Kofka here includes breadcrumbs, cumin, allspice and oregano. It is served with flatbread and minted yogurt sauce. |
| Lebanon | known as Kafka, they are typically speared ovals of seasoned meat cooked over a charcoal grill. |
| Iraq | These Kofka have a defined fat to meat ratio, sumac is added to the ground lamb, and it is grilled over charcoal. |
| Morocco | known as Kefta, these Kofka from Morocco have marjoram, coriander, paprika, mint, cinnamon, turmeric, clove and oftentimes fresh herbs. |
| Afghanistan | made with hot chili and cilantro and serves it with rice and tomato sauce. |
| Syria | its Kofka contains parsley, paprika, coriander and allspice and are oftentimes served with tahini. |
| Tunisia | makes its Kofka with honey, lemon, ginger, spices and parsley. |
| Indian | Kofka contains the usual Indian spices of turmeric, cumin, fenugreek and ginger. |
| Pakistan | Kofka are made from lamb, mutton or goat and contain white poppy seeds, coriander, cumin, cardamon and cinnamon. In addition a spicy curry sauce, finishes the dish. The heat and spice of the sauce coming from Kashmiri red chilli. |
Related Recipes
More recipes that make great lunch entrees include:
Lamb Kofka Wraps (Air Fryer)
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground lamb
- 1 onion
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1½ tsp turmeric
- 1½ tsp coriander
- ½ tsp dried mint
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4 tortilla wraps large
- parsley
Instructions
- Grind any whole herbs and spices to a finer texture in a spice grinder.
- Peel and grate the onion,
- Put the grated onion in a sieve and using a spoon, press the pulp. Discard the onion juice.
- Grate the garlic cloves and chop the parsley.
- Put the ground lamb, and all the herbs, spices and seasonings in a bowl.
- Add the grated onion and garlic and parsley and mix.
- With floured hands, scoop out a quarter of the lamb and roll it into a cylinder shape to form a sausage.
- Place into air fryer and brush or spray with oil. Air fry for a total of 16 minutes, 8 minutes each side, at 350 degrees F, or until the lamb reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees F using a digital thermometer.
- Place the lamb sausage onto a tortilla, garnish with all of your favorite salad ingredients (I used pickled onions, mini bell peppers, mini cucumber slices, radish slices, cherry tomato halves and micro greens,) then serve it with a mint and dill yogurt sauce drizzled over the lamb.
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