Rich in flavour and nutrients, venison mince (ground venison) is easy to cook and super versatile. Whether you're a keen hunter, the lucky friend of a hunter or have a great venison supplier in your area, we have a delicious venison mince recipe for you to try. Venison koftas with a fragrant spice mix, fresh cucumber yoghurt dressing and pickled onions, all wrapped up in a homemade flatbread.
These are sure to become a family favourite! Let us show you how to whip up this moreish dish!
If you love game meat our slow cooked vension and goat curry recipes are a must try!
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What are koftas?
Koftas originate from the Middle East, using ground meat mixed with spices. The meat mixture is pressed into balls or rolled on skewers and grilled.
Serve with a mix of salad vegetables, dressings and wrapped in a flatbread, for a delicious dinner.
Traditionally, koftas use ground beef or lamb but we have added the twist of using leaner venison mince. Why not when we live in New Zealand and have so much premium venison available.
Ingredients.
- For the koftas, you will need 10 bamboo skewers (20 cms long) and venison mince (ground venison). This recipe will also work well with lamb or beef mince. And the herbs and spice mix: turmeric, ground cumin, ground coriander, chilli powder, fresh coriander (chopped) salt and pepper.
- Yoghurt flatbread, you will need self raising flour, (unsweetened) Greek yoghurt, a little baking powder, a handful of chopped coriander and pinch of salt. (Homemade yoghurt flatbread is soft and tasty, but to make this dish even easier you can buy store bought from your local supermarket as well)
- Pickled onion, a great little garnish to have ready made in the fridge. And simple to whip up, all you need is, red onion, white wine vinegar, olive oil and pinch of salt.
- Cucumber lemon yoghurt, another great go to dressing. You will need un sweetened Greek yoghurt, half a cucumber, fresh mint leaves, a lemon and salt.
- Optional garnishes to finish, for extra flavour and textures, top the assembled koftas with mint leaves, cherry tomatoes, shaved radishes and a drizzle of olive oil.
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How to make koftas.
Koftas are simple to make and yet full of flavour.
If using bamboo skewers, make sure to soak them in water for at least 30 minutes prior to using. This will prevent them from burning while cooking the koftas.
Then take a bowl and mix the mince with a delicious spice and herb mix using: turmeric, ground cumin, ground coriander, chilli powder, fresh coriander and salt and pepper. Then with clean hands, mix it all together well.
Portion the mince mix into 10 equal balls. Take a skewer and shape one of the balls around the skewer to form a sausage like shape on one half of the skewer.
Shape all ten koftas, place on a tray with baking paper, cover and place in the fridge to chill. This will help the koftas stay juicy and hold their shape during the cooking process.
To cook, heat your griddle pan or BBQ until hot. Grill the koftas, making sure to turn them regularly so they don't burn. Cook for a few minutes on each side, until cooked. To check slice one kofta and check the mince is cooked through.
How to make yoghurt flatbread.
Yoghurt flatbread is seriously good and easy to make. Its a great recipe to accompany a variety of dishes or to add to a dip. For such a simple flatbread the results are too good, its definitely become a favourite in our house.
To make simply: mix the ingredients together using a knife until just combined. Form a ball with the dough and knead but only for a minute, don't over mix the dough or you will end up with tough bread. Allow to rest, then divide into 10 balls.
Roll each ball out to 2-3 mm, dusting with a little flour. Heat a griddle or frying pan on a medium heat, cook each bread for a few minutes either side.
Be careful, as over-cooking will cause them to dry out. And that's it, your tasty, fresh bread is ready. Cover with a towel, till ready to enjoy.
Preparing ahead.
This recipe is a great dish for prepping ahead. The cucumber yoghurt and pickled onion can be made ahead and stored, covered in the fridge.
The koftas can be prepped, early in the day and stored cover in the fridge, until ready to cool. The flatbreads can be made and covered with a clean towel, to keep warm.
We like to eat these warm and fresh though, so don't recommend letting them sit too long. Then when you are ready to serve all you have to do is cook the koftas, assemble, garnish and enjoy!
Is Venison meat healthy?
Venison is a delicious meat that is lean, low in fat, cholesterol and calories, it contains more iron than beef and lamb and is classified as a "nutrient-dense" protein. Also packed with many good nutrients, including zinc and a number of B vitamins, making venison a better red meat option.
So if you are looking for a delicious venison mince recipe, these koftas are a must try and a great way to feed a crowd! Enjoy!
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Happy cooking!
Recipe
Venison Koftas
Equipment
- 10 Bamboo skewers (20 cms)
Ingredients
Venison Koftas
- 500 g Venison mince
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- 2 teaspoon Ground cumin
- 2 teaspoon Ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon Chilli powder
- Small bunch Fresh coriander (finely chopped)
- Pinch of Salt & pepper
Yoghurt Flatbread
- 350 g Self raising flour
- 350 g Greek yoghurt (unsweetened)
- ½ teaspoon Baking powder
- Small bunch Coriander
- Pinch of Salt
Pickled Onion
- 1 Red onion
- 4 tablespoon White wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- Pinch of Salt
Cucumber Lemon Yoghurt
- 200 ml Greek yoghurt (unsweetened)
- ½ Cucumber (grated)
- 10 Fresh mint leaves
- 1 Lemon (zest and juice)
- Pinch of Salt
To Garnish (Optional)
- A handful Fresh mint leaves
- 10 Cherry tomatoes (halved)
- â…” Radishes (shaved)
- Olive oil
Instructions
Venison Koftas
- Place your bamboo skewers into a dish and cover with hot water and allow to soak for 30 minutes. (This will stop them burning during cooking)
- Grab your venison mince and place into a bowl, add the turmeric, ground cumin, ground coriander, chilli powder, chopped fresh coriander, salt and pepper and give it all a good mix.
- Portion the mince mix into 10 equal balls and shape around each skewer to form a sausage like shape on half of the skewer.
- Once you have done all 10 skewers, place onto a sheet of baking paper and into the fridge to chill. (See note 1).
To Cook The Koftas
- Heat a griddle pan or BBQ until hot and grill your koftas. Turn regularly so not to burn, cook for a couple of minutes each side, until cooked.
Yoghurt Flatbread
- To prepare the flat bread dough, simply add the flour, baking powder, chopped coriander, salt and Greek yoghurt into a bowl.
- Mix with a knife until the ingredients are just combined. Then use your hands to form into a ball of dough, you only want to knead the dough for about a minute. (See note 2)
- Once your dough is done cover with cling film and set aside for 20 minutes.
- Portion the dough into 12 equal portions and roll into balls.
- Heat your griddle pan or fry pan to a medium heat.
- Roll out each dough ball into a circle shape and to the thickness of 2-3 mm dusting with flour so it does not stick to the bench.
- Cook each piece of dough on the griddle pan for about 2 minutes each side. Once cooked, place under a clean cloth to keep warm.
Pickled Onion (See note 3)
- Peel and thinly slice the red onion, place into a bowl and add the vinegar, oil and salt, give a good mix and set aside.
Cucumber Lemon Yoghurt (See note 3)
- Add the yoghurt, grated cucumber, lemon juice & zest and a pinch of salt into a bowl.
- Finely chop the mint and add to the yoghurt. Mix well and keep covered in fridge, until ready to serve.
To Assemble
- Lay out your warm flat breads onto a large serving platter, spoon on a bit of the cucumber yoghurt and place your lamb koftas on top of the yoghurt.
- Add a little of the pickled onion, and garnish with cherry tomatoes, shaved radish and a drizzle of olive oil. Enjoy!
Cara
I'm from Minnesota, so we always have venison in our freezer, and I wanted to try something new. This was amazing!! And the flatbread? So, so delicious! Thank you!
veenaazmanov
Lovely starter option. So easy and quick to make and perfect combination to enjoying these Koftas with some amazing Yogurt Flat Bread and Yogurt Cucumber too.
Casey
We are huge venison fans and this was SO flavorful! I used store bought flatbread and it was still such an easy and impressive meal!!
Brittany
I love kofta from restaurants but don't often get it because it's pricey. This was so close to my favorite restaurants' kofta! The venison added that bit of extra flavor like lamb does. We'll have to try it with beef next time unfortunately, but I bet it will still be delicious.
Sara-Jane Bowness
Brittany, so glad you enjoyed this recipe, it's delicious with venison but great with beef too! I hope this is one of those recipes you enjoy coming back to time and time again 🙂