Lamb Kofta Flatbreads with Pickled Red Onion and Yoghurt

Ingredients

• 600g lamb mince
• 1½ tsp ground cumin
• 1½ tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
• 15g flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 200g natural yoghurt
• 1 garlic clove, finely grated
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 medium courgettes, cut into 1cm rounds
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 4 large flatbreads or wraps, to serve
• fresh mint leaves, to serve
• sumac, to dust, to serve
• extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle, to serve
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges, to serve

Method

1. Start the pickle first — it needs the longest sit. Combine the sliced red onion, red wine vinegar and caster sugar in a bowl, season with a good pinch of salt, and scrunch with your hands for a minute until the onion slackens and weeps pink. Set aside for at least 20 minutes — by the time you serve it'll be shocking pink and softened.
2. Stir the grated garlic and lemon juice into the yoghurt, season with salt and pepper, taste, and adjust. Refrigerate until needed — the garlic mellows as it sits.
3. Tip the lamb mince into a large bowl with the cumin, ground coriander, smoked paprika, cinnamon, grated garlic and chopped parsley. Season generously with salt and pepper — under-seasoned mince is the single most common kofta failure. Mix firmly with your hands for about a minute, until the spices are evenly distributed and the mixture feels tacky and cohesive.
4. Divide into 12 equal portions and shape each into a short, fat sausage around a skewer, or free-form if you prefer. The spices will bloom as the kofta hit the hot pan — the fat in the lamb does the work, carrying the aromatics out of their raw, dusty state and into something fragrant.
5. Heat a large cast-iron griddle or heavy frying pan over a high heat until smoking. Toss the courgette rounds with olive oil, season well, and lay them out in a single layer — don't crowd the pan or they'll steam instead of char. Cook for 3–4 minutes per side, until you've got deep griddle marks and the centres are tender. Transfer to a plate.
6. Wipe the pan, add 1 tbsp olive oil, and bring back to high heat. Cook the kofta in two batches — all twelve at once and the pan crowds, water comes out, and you've stewed the lamb instead of browning it. 8–10 minutes per batch, turning every 2 minutes, until deeply bronzed on all sides and cooked through.
7. While the kofta cook, warm the flatbreads directly over a gas flame for 30 seconds per side until blistered and charred at the edges, or in a dry pan for 1 minute per side until pliable and hot. Watch the garlic in any leftover pan oil — fragrant is what you want, anything darker than pale gold turns the whole thing bitter.
8. Taste the yoghurt one more time before plating — a final squeeze of lemon juice if it needs lifting, another pinch of salt if it falls flat.
9. Spread a generous spoonful of garlic yoghurt across each warm flatbread, top with charred courgette and three kofta. Pile on the bright pink pickled onion, scatter with torn mint leaves, dust with sumac, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, and finish with a good squeeze of lemon from the wedges.