Chicken Koftas With Lime Couscous

By Nik Sharma

Published November 10, 2020

  • Nik Sharma for The New York Times (Photography and Styling)
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
25 minutes
Rating
5(2,767)
Comments
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This splendid yet easy meal pairs koftas (gently spiced meatballs) and couscous with fresh accents from herbs, limes and crunchy pine nuts. Using a food processor to blitz all the kofta ingredients provides enough friction to help the meat proteins bind and form a much nicer and compact kofta. A similar technique is traditionally employed in India, where ground meat is chopped until it becomes a paste. While the sweet and tart taste of dried cherries are nice here, cranberries are an excellent substitute, bringing a similar spot of brightness to this dish.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

FOR THE COUSCOUS

  • 1 ½ cups low-sodium chicken stock

  • 2 tablespoons lime juice, plus ½ teaspoon lime zest

  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

  • 1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes, such as Aleppo

  • Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 cup couscous

  • ¼ loosely packed cup chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves

  • ¼ cup dried sweet-tart cherries or cranberries

  • 3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

FOR THE KOFTAS

  • 1 pound ground chicken or turkey

  • 2 shallots, peeled and minced

  • 1 large egg, lightly whisked

  • 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves

  • 1 serrano chile, trimmed and chopped

  • 4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

  • 2 tablespoons peeled and grated fresh ginger

  • Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • Olive oil

  • 1 lime, cut into wedges, for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

50 grams carbs; 147 milligrams cholesterol; 537 calories; 12 grams monosaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 24 grams fat; 5 grams fiber; 809 milligrams sodium; 32 grams protein; 6 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Make the couscous: In a medium saucepan over high heat, bring the stock, lime juice, olive oil, red-pepper flakes and 1 teaspoon salt to a rolling boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the couscous. Cover with a lid and let sit for 10 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    As the couscous sits, prepare the koftas: Place the ground chicken, shallots, egg, parsley, serrano, garlic, ginger, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse paste.

  3. Step 3

    Heat 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large (12-inch) cast-iron skillet or nonstick pan over medium-low. Grease your hands with a little oil and divide and shape the ground chicken mixture into 12 balls. Fry them in the hot oil, in batches if necessary, until golden brown on all sides and the internal temperature reads 165 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 8 to 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the koftas to a tray or plate lined with paper towels.

  4. Step 4

    Uncover the couscous, fluff the mixture with a fork and break up any lumps. Transfer the couscous to a large mixing bowl. Fold in the lime zest, parsley, cherries and pine nuts, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Fold in the koftas and serve immediately with the lime wedges.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
2,767 user ratings
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Comments

D. D’Souza

Great recipe, quick and easy to follow! My mom makes similar koftas so I appreciate Nik quantifying the ingredients for the recipe! I riffed the koftas a bit: I added paprika, cumin powder, and haldi. I also added a dash of sugar and a pinch of cinnamon (my nana’s trick). I used breadcrumbs to help bind the mixture and baked at 400 degrees. Served with the recipe’s couscous and a simple tahini sauce (tahini, lemon, water, and sugar).

Mandy

Loved this recipe! Couple of changes: 1) did not use the food processor, just minced the ingredients and combined by hand. I added about a 1/4 c of panko and some cumin. baked them at 425 for about 15-17 mins on a lightly greased baking sheet - they turned out perfectly 2) i wish i had more of the cous cous! Light portions for 2 people in my opinion. 3) followed other commenters and added a tahini sauce, and felt like it really brought the dish together.

Emma

Excellent flavors. Next time I would probably skip the food processor all together and instead finely chop serrano, garlic, and shallots to form traditional meatballs. Texture was a little too weird after blending ground chicken

Anne

The couscous part was good and I'll make it again as a side. The meatballs were dry. I would just serve the couscous with grilled chicken or tofu.

Beth S

Great flavor. I did not use the food processor and wished I had baked the meatballs per my usual method. Thought it might need a sauce. NYT recipe writers need to get real. It took me 45 minutes to prep all the ingredients before cooking. Where does 25 minutes come from?

Cierra

The cook time listed is laughable. With this many ingredients and amount of prep work, this took me over an hour start to finish. I skipped the food processor step in a vain attempt to cut down on dishes, but I think the koftas might have benefitted from either that or being minced by hand. Again, I didn't want to dirty my cutting board with raw meat so I skipped that step. So the koftas were okay, but the couscous was great. I'll save this recipe for the couscous but probably alter the koftas

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