İskender Kebab

Making İskender Kebab

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1. Toss the sliced lamb with the olive oil, cumin, paprika, oregano, salt, pepper and onion juice. Cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

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2. For the sauce, fry the garlic in the olive oil for 30 seconds, add the tomato purée and cook 2 minutes, then the passata, sugar, salt and Aleppo pepper. Simmer 15 minutes until thickened. Keep it hot.

   Mark done Start 30 sec timer

3. Toast the bread cubes in a dry pan or a 200°C / 390°F oven for 6 minutes until dry and lightly coloured but not hard.

   Mark done Start 6 min timer

4. Grill the tomatoes and green peppers over a high flame until blistered.

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5. Get a heavy frying pan very hot and sear the lamb in two batches, 2 minutes a batch, so it browns rather than stews.

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6. Spread the bread cubes over warm plates and spoon a third of the hot tomato sauce over them.

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7. Pile the lamb on top and spoon the rest of the sauce over that.

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8. Brown the butter in a small pan until it foams, subsides and smells nutty, then carry it to the table and pour it sizzling over each plate.

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9. Add a spoonful of yoghurt on the side, the grilled vegetables, and a scatter of sumac and parsley. Eat at once.

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Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.

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Small Things That Help

• Sear the lamb hot and fast in batches. Crowded lamb turns grey and tough.
• Brown the butter properly and pour it at the table while it sizzles.
• Assemble and serve within a minute. This dish does not wait.

Swaps and Variations

• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.
• Fresh herbs work in place of the dried oregano at roughly three times the quantity — a teaspoon of dried is about a tablespoon of fresh, chopped.

Serving Suggestions

• Ayran
• Grilled green peppers
• A Turkish red such as Öküzgözü

Keeping and Reheating

Components keep 3 days refrigerated. Assemble to order — leftovers do not reheat well as a plate.

İskender Kebab FAQ: Common Questions

The Numbers per Serving

Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: weights that include bone are counted as if all of it were eaten, so the figures run high; an ingredient listed without an amount is not counted, so the figures run low. How the figures are worked out.

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