Kabob / Skewers (Kofta & Shish Kebab)

Kofta falls off the skewer for two reasons: the onion was not squeezed dry, or the meat mixture was not kneaded enough. Raw onion contains a large amount of water — when the kofta hits the hot grill, this water turns to steam, which expands and pushes the meat off the skewer from the inside. Squeezing all the liquid out of the grated onion before mixing eliminates this problem. Insufficient kneading is the second cause: kneading the meat mixture for 3 to 4 minutes extracts myosin (a muscle protein) that, when heated, acts as a binding glue. Under-kneaded mixture will crumble on the grill. A correctly made kofta mixture is tacky and holds its shape when pressed — it should not be crumbly or loose.

Baharat (Arabic: بَهَارَات, meaning 'spices') is the foundational spice blend of Lebanese and wider Levantine cooking. The exact composition varies by region and family but typically combines: allspice (the dominant note), black pepper, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, cloves, and nutmeg — together producing a warm, aromatic, slightly sweet complexity that is impossible to replicate with any single spice. This recipe lists the spices individually so you can control the ratios. If you have a pre-mixed baharat blend, use 2 teaspoons in place of all the individual spices. If you have neither, the closest approximation is a mixture of allspice (dominant), cinnamon, and cumin — which produces perhaps 70% of the baharat character.

Kofta (also spelled kefta, kafta, köfte) is made from ground or minced meat that is spiced, shaped onto a skewer, and grilled. The meat is essentially seasoned mince moulded into a cylinder. Shish kebab (shish means skewer in Turkish) is made from whole cubes of marinated meat — most commonly lamb shoulder, beef sirloin, or chicken thigh — threaded onto skewers and grilled. The two styles have entirely different textures: kofta is dense, smooth, and flavour-forward from the spice mix; shish is chewy, juicy, and character-forward from the quality and marinade of the whole meat. In a Lebanese mashawi spread, both are typically served together alongside grilled chicken (shish tawook) and grilled vegetables.

For kofta, flat wide metal skewers — typically 2 to 3 cm wide — are essential, not a preference. A round skewer allows the meat to spin around the skewer when you try to turn it, and because ground meat has no structural grain to grip the metal, round skewers produce kofta that spins loose and breaks. Flat skewers grip the meat from two sides and prevent rotation. Metal skewers are also preferred over wooden for kofta because they conduct heat into the centre of the meat from the inside, improving even cooking, and they do not require soaking. For shish kebab (whole cubed meat), round metal skewers work perfectly because the meat pieces grip the skewer at their cut surfaces.

In Lebanon, a full mashawi (مشاوي, 'grilled things') spread is the proper context for kebab. The kofta skewers arrive at the table still on the skewer or freshly slid off, surrounded by: warm pita or Lebanese flatbread; raw thinly sliced white onion; quartered fresh tomatoes; fresh flat-leaf parsley, ideally a whole bunch; pickled turnips (pink from beetroot brine) or other pickles; tahini sauce or toum (Lebanese garlic sauce); and freshly squeezed lemon. In the street food tradition, a kofta skewer is wrapped in a sheet of flatbread with the accompaniments and eaten as a sandwich. Adding hummus is common and welcome.