Kofta bil tahini – Ground Beef in a Citrus Tahini sauce
Growing up in a Middle Eastern household, we ate a whole lot of kofta. Kofta baked with tomatoes, kofta as out meatballs for spaghetti, kofta on the grill but one of my favorites is this variation- kofta bil tahini (ground beef in a citrus tahini sauce). It is absolutely delicious. We’ve been eating it my whole life but once I got married and moved out; I didn’t have my mom to make it anymore. Her kofta was always the best. She’s in town and guess what I asked her to make for me? This exact dish. I wanted to learn and enjoy another time from her hands. I hope you enjoy this family recipe. Be sure to check it out on my Instagram highlights to see the video of how we made it.
Servings: 40 pieces of kofta
Total Time: 1 hour
Ingredients
3 lbs of ground beef
3/4 cup of parsley
1/2 a red bell pepper
4 cloves of garlic
1 small onion
1 1/2 tbsp of allspice
Salt & pepper to taste
1 cup of tahini
2 cups of water
1 tsp of salt
The juice of 1 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
2 Idaho potatoes peeled and sliced thinly
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F.
- In a food processor, blend the bell pepper, onion, garlic cloves, and parsley.
- In a large bowl, add the ground beef. To that, add the blended veggie mixture. Season with the allspice, salt, and pepper. Mix together very well.
- Shape the kofta to your liking. Place the kofta in an ungreased pan. Line them next to each other. Wedge a potato slice in between the kofta’s. Cover the pan with aluminum and place in the oven to bake for 40 minutes.
- In a blender, add the tahini, water, lemon juice, garlic powder, cumin, salt, and cornstarch. Blend for 20 seconds or so.
- Add the tahini sauce to a pot on low to medium heat and cook it. You want to keep stirring it gently while it is on the stovetop. This will make it thicker. You don’t want it too thick or thin; so add 2-3 tbsp of warm water if necessary to thin out. Keep stirring until it reaches a slight boil. That’s when you know the sauce is ready.
- After taking the kofta out of the oven at 40minutes, make sure it is cooked through. Drain the kofta of its liquid. Then, pour the tahini sauce on top covering the kofta. Bake for another 10-15 minutes uncovered. Then broil for 2 minutes till lightly browned and bubbling.
- Garnish with parsley, toasted slivered almonds, and some sumac (all optional). Enjoy with some pita bread to dip or rice and salad.
Super yummy and the tahini consistency was ON POINT! 👍🏻 A must try!
Yes!!! I am happy you enjoyed it. It is a household favorite.
Making this tonight, insh’Allah. Very excited.
Easy, delicious, and fool-proof! The sauce was super yummy and not too heavy.
This is a dish I will make again and again! It’s so smooth, creamy and delicious! The flavors are amazing. Thank you Heifa for an easy to create recipe that leaves a big impression! We did not need all 3 lb of the meat so I vacuum sealed it and froze. I can easily pull it out and make again.
I am so thrilled you enjoy this meal! Yes, freeze the extra meat for next time!
This is wonderful! I always come back to this recipe because the consistency of the tahini is just perfect!
Love hearing this, Thanks Rawan! Happy this recipe is a winner for you!
I have made the decedent recipe multiple times, and it is such a fun palate for my taste buds. The combination of meat and tahini is one that cannot be beat. It’s soooo delicious and cooked to perfection.
Thank you so much for the recipe!! I only make it this way now and always refer back to this page. It’s delicious!!!
This is so good and easy. I wasn’t sure about only cooking for 35 minutes I usually leave my meat in the oven for longer but it was just right after putting it back for 10 more minutes with the sauce. This will be my go to recipe for kufta from now on. Thank you!
Kofta and tahini sauce is one of my favorites! I always end up making a thick tahini sauce, so having this recipe to follow is perfect. Thank you!
My pleasure Joanna!
Such easy recipe to follow. Absolutely amazing 😍😍
Thanks, Hadeel!
One of my faves so yummy and so easy to make!
Agreed! It is my go-to comfort meal.
Just made this and it turned out so yummy! I added tomatoes to mine when I put it in for that last 10 minutes. Everything was perfect. Ive never been able to make the meat balls just right and this time they were so so good!
Awesome! Love the addition of tomatoes!
Awesome kofta! The tahini sauce is super creamy and delicious, it’s really the highlight of the meal. I have also frozen leftovers and they defrost perfectly fine and are delicious after re-heating. The recipe is easy enough to follow for a non-arab cook too 🙋♀️, so I definitely recommend!
So happy to hear that!
So easy and delicious! I loved how comforting and quick this was to put together- I made this last night after randomly seeing it on Instagram! Served it with a quick pot of rice and sliced cucumbers! Perfect for an easy weeknight dinner!
This was truly one of the BEST recipes I have ever used for Kofta bil tahini. It was so doable, easy to follow, and my family loved it! will only be using this recipe for this dish from here on out!
Thanks so much, Bayaan! That means a lot!
I have never been able to make kofta with tahinia. But after trying this recipe i will be including it in my meal rotation! 10/10 recommend!!
Made this yesterday for Iftar and was so delicious and creamy! I added sliced eggplant and tomatoes on top because I was craving them. We wiped our dishes clean. Thanks for the easy recipe!
I’ve tried a similar recipe by someone else before and it came out just…missing something. Followed your recipe and it was beyond amazing. I have tried so many recipes from your blog and they never disappoint, thank you!
Made this recipe for my family today and we all loved it! The tahini sauce is so silky and creamy and full of flavor !