We are so excited to finally share this recipe on the blog! Baked Kaftas have long been a family staple for me. It’s a dish that takes a long time to put together, but can easily feed a crowd or make great leftovers – think similar to a lasagna! It’s the ideal dish to make on a leisurely Sunday afternoon and enjoy for a hearty lunch all week.

If you are not yet familiar with kaftas, they are basically Middle Eastern meatballs! Usually made with beef or lamb or a combination of both, along with a blend of spices, parsley, garlic, and onion. The can be grilled and eaten as a sandwich or baked in a sauce. We’ve baked the kaftas in a tahini sauce before, which is a common preparation, but it can be quite heavy that way. I much prefer them baked in a tomato sauce. It reminds me slightly of a meatloaf type preparation, but I am much more partial to this flavor profile!

There are a few steps involved to ensure everything is cooked and seasoned well. First, I recommend you make the kaftas. When we are short on time, we often buy the premade kafta mix at Sara’s Market and Bakery in Richardson. It’s almost spot on flavor wise but can be on the fattier side. If you have the time to make your own, I recommend it. Once the meat has been mixed, set it aside and work on the sauce.

The sauce features onion, garlic, crushed tomatoes, and several spices. One of these spices is a Middle Eastern Seven Spice. It’s a combination of seven spices that completely changes the flavor profile of the dish. Seven spice can also easily be found at Sara’s Market, but if you struggling to find it here is a good recipe to make your own blend with more traditional spices. Once the sauce is simmering, you can work on frying up the potatoes that will go on top of the baked kaftas.

Frying the potatoes pre-baking may seem like an unnecessary step, but we have attempted to put them on top without frying first and they just end up dry and uncooked. They don’t have to cook 100% in the frying step, but you want to at least get a good golden brown color on each side before layering the dish. We use our mandolin slicer to help get even slices and cut down on time. Pat them well with a paper towel and place gently into the hot oil. I recommend cooking the potatoes in batches to avoid overcrowding.

Once the potatoes are done and the sauce has simmered down a bit, you can arrange your dish. Start with the kaftas on the bottom of the baking dish and then cover with the tomato sauce. Layer with the fried potatoes next and then finally the sliced tomatoes. I recommend to bake for about 20 minutes covered with foil first and then about 20 more minutes uncovered.

Serve with warm pita (Sara’s Market also has the best freshly baked pita – promise this post is not sponsored by them, we just love their shop!) or rice. Check out our post on Halal Guys copycat bowls for how we make our vermicelli rice.

Baked Kaftas with Potatoes and Tomatoes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Servings: 6 People

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

Kafta Meat

• 1 Pound Ground Lamb
• 1 Pound Ground Beef
• 3 Cloves Garlic Minced
• 1/4 Large Yellow Onion Finely Diced
• 1/3 Cup Fresh Parsley Chopped
• 2 Teaspoons Kosher Salt
• 2 Teaspoons Seven Spice
• 1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1 Teaspoon Dried Mint
• 2 Medium Tomatoes Sliced
• 1 Large Russet Potato Thinly Sliced
• Canola Oil for Frying

Sauce

• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1/2 Large Yellow Onion Diced
• 3 Cloves Garlic Minced
• 1 28 ounce Can Crushed Tomato
• 1 Teaspoon Seven Spice
• 1 Teaspoon Dried Mint
• 1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 1/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1/4 Teaspoon Cumin
• 1/4 Teaspoon Sugar

Method

 

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F
2. Combine the lamb, beef, minced garlic, diced onion, parsley, and spices into a large bowl and mix well until all ingredients are well combined. 
3. Roll into small meatballs (we always do a more cylindrical shape, see in photos above) and place into the bottom of a baking dish. Set aside. 
4. Next, prep the sauce. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a medium saucepan. 
5. Add diced onion and garlic and saute for 4-5 minutes until translucent. 
6. Add in the crushed tomatoes and spices including bay leaf and allow to simmer uncovered for about 25 minutes while you prep the remaining ingredients. 
7. While the sauce cooks, heat up canola oil for frying the potatoes in a large pan. You want to use enough oil to cover the potatoes, the amount will vary depending on the size of your pan. 
8. Once the oil is hot, add your potato slices in batches, frying them until golden brown on each side, about 4 minutes per side. Once cooked, remove from the oil and set aside on a paper towel to drain. Continue until you have finished with all the potato slices. 
9. Now arrange the baked kaftas. First, pour the sauce over the kaftas. 
10. Next, top with the fried potatoes followed by the tomato slices. 
11. Cover with foil and bake for about 20 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes. 
12. Top with fresh parsley and serve with vermicelli rice or pita.