Spiced Kofta Skewers with Lemon-Marinated Aubergine
Juicy cumin-and-mint spiced meat skewers off the grill, served with lemon-and-herb marinated grilled aubergine, warm pita and a swirl of ajvar yogurt — a proper summer grill dinner.
Best for high-protein · summer grill dinner
This is a grill night everyone gets behind: seasoned lamb or beef mince shaped around skewers and grilled until charred and juicy, alongside slabs of aubergine grilled soft and turned through a bright lemon, parsley and honey marinade. A smoky ajvar-spiked yogurt and warm pita bread round it out. It reads restaurant-fancy but the flavours come from pantry spices — cumin, dried mint and garlic. Use lamb for the classic richness or lean beef to lighten it; either way, don't overwork the mince so the skewers stay tender.
Ingredients
Lemon-marinated aubergine
- 2 piece small aubergines , sliced lengthways ~1 cm thick
- 3 g fine sea salt , for degorging, plus to taste
- 1 piece lemon , zest and juice
- 30 ml lemon juice , extra
- 18 g flat-leaf parsley , chopped
- 20 g honey
- 45 ml olive oil
Spiced skewers
- 500 g lamb or beef mince
- 1 clove garlic cloves , finely grated
- 2 g ground cumin
- 1 g dried mint
- 1 piece large eggs
- 3 g fine sea salt
- 1 g black pepper
To serve
- 4 piece pita bread , to grill
- 150 ml plain Turkish yogurt
- 30 g ajvar relish , stirred into the yogurt
Instructions
Lemon-marinated aubergine
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1
Trim the aubergines and slice them lengthways about 1 cm thick. Salt both sides and leave to draw out moisture for about 15 minutes, then pat dry.
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2
Finely grate the lemon zest and squeeze the juice, and chop the parsley. Mix the lemon zest and juice, the extra lemon juice, parsley, honey and olive oil into a marinade.
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4
Grill the aubergine slices about 1 minute per side until soft and lightly charred, then turn them through the lemon marinade and season with pepper and a little salt.
Spiced skewers
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3
Make the skewers: grate the garlic and mix it into the mince with the cumin, dried mint, egg, salt and pepper — just until combined. Shape into 8 sausages (about 2 per serving) and thread each onto a skewer.
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5
Grill the skewers slowly, turning, until cooked through and nicely charred, 8–10 minutes (72°C internal).
To serve
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6
Warm the pita on the grill and stir the ajvar into the yogurt. Serve the skewers with the marinated aubergine, pita and a spoonful of ajvar yogurt.