Claudia Roden's recipe for kofte kebab with tomato sauce and yogurt

This is a mainstay of Turkish kebab houses where it is often served dramatically in a dish with a domed copper lid, the type that was once used at the sultan's palace. I serve it in a large round clay dish that can be reheated in the oven.

It's extravaganza on many levels. There is toasted pitta bread on the bottom with tomato sauce poured over it. This one is topped with yoghurt and sprinkled with fried pine nuts. Skewers of grilled minced meat or shish kebab, or both, are laid on top. It requires organization and must be assembled at the last moment because the pitta must remain a little crispy.

The tomato sauce and the meat must be very hot, while the yoghurt should be at room temperature.

Makes 4 to 6pita bread 2 minced beef or lamb 750 g salt and black pepper onion 1 finely chopped medium dish (optional) - 1 bunch (50g) parsley, finely chopped 1 tsp sumac, plus a pinch of whole natural yogurt 500g butter or extra virgin olive oil 2 tbsp pine nuts 2-3 tablespoons

< em>For the tomato sauce onion 1 small chopped extra virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons garlic 2 cloves chopped chilli 1, seeded and chopped tomatoes 750g, peeled and chopped salt and black pepper sugar 1-2 tsp

< p class="dcr-kpil6a">Prepare the tomato sauce first. Sauté the onion in the oil until soft. Add the garlic and chilli, and stir for a moment or two. Put the tomatoes, season with salt, pepper and sugar and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes until softened.

Open the pitta and grill them until crispy, then break them into small pieces.

For kofte skewers, season the beef or lamb with salt and pepper, and work it into a soft dough with your hands. Add the onion, if using, and the parsley, and stir into the meat. Shape sausages about 2 cm thick and 7 cm long. Arrange them on oiled aluminum foil on a baking sheet and cook under a preheated broiler for about 8 minutes, turning once, until golden brown on the outside but pink and soft inside.

Spread the grilled pitta pieces on the bottom of the serving dish and sprinkle with a pinch of sumac. Pour the hot tomato sauce all over and cover with a layer of fork-beaten yoghurt.

Heat the butter or oil with the pine nuts and stir in the spoon remaining sumac coffee. When the butter or oil sizzles, sprinkle it over the yogurt. Arrange the meat on top and serve immediately.

VariantsFor a rustic kebab, brown small pieces of lamb in butter or oil with chopped onion, and salt and pepper. Serve on a bed of toasted and broken pitta bread and pour warmed yogurt on top. Mix a little paprika into some sizzling butter and drizzle it over the yogurt.

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