Name: Cheese Stuffed Meatballs (Kofta)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 22 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Pakistani
Ingredients: 1 tbsp cumin seeds; 1 tbsp coriander seeds; 500g minced beef or lamb; 2 tbsp garlic, ginger and chilli paste; Salt and pepper to taste; 2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder; 1 tsp garam masala; 1 tsp ground cumin; ½ red onion, very finely chopped; 3 tbsp coriander stems, finely chopped; 3 green finger chillies, finely chopped; 1 tbsp roasted gram flour (optional); 2 tbsp melted ghee; 150g Cheddar cheese, grated; 2 lemons, quartered to serve

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Cheese stuffed meatballs in the form of spicy koftas. It doesn't get much better!

Cheese stuffed meatballs or in this case cheese stuffed koftas are a very popular street food dish that you've got to try if you haven't already. These cheese stuffed meatballs are traditionally deep fried or skewered to cook in a tandoor oven.

In this recipe you use an air fryer. Air fryers are the best substitute for a tandoor oven. They are also much easier to use and you can go straight to cooking as they only take a minute to pre-heat.

About this recipe.

This is an easy recipe for cheese stuffed meatballs done tandoori style in a hot air fryer. Although the recipes calls for Cheddar or Mozzarella cheese, you could stuff these meatballs with the cheese of your choice.

I have made these meatballs quite spicy as I prefer them that way. You can reduce the amount of chilli powder and chillies if you like and they will still be spot on.

I recommend dividing the grated cheese into eight equal portions just like you do the koftas so they all have lots of delicious cheese in them.

Do you have to use beef for this recipe?

Not at all. This is a popular Pakistani version of cheese stuffed meatballs where beef is the preferred meat for these koftas.

You could use the minced (ground) meat of your choice. Lamb, mutton, chicken and turkey will all work well. If using poultry, I recommend adding a couple of tablespoons of melted lamb or beef fat to the meat.

Chicken and turkey can be quite dry and adding the fat not only adds flavour but also juiciness. That is of course optional though.

How are air fryers similar to tandoor ovens?

Most tandoor ovens at restaurants are use gas burners. So there is no smoky flavour like you might expect from a modern tandoor oven. I personally have a gas tandoor and a charcoal burning tandoor and love them both.

The problem with a tandoor oven, however is that they take so long to heat up before you can cook anything.

Air fryers cook in a similar way to tandoors using hot air to cook your meal fast. You will get very similar results using an air fryer as you do with a gas tandoor oven.

Can you make these cheese stuffed meatballs smoky like in a charcoal tandoor?

Yes. I didn't do it this time but there is a way of giving these cheese stufffed koftas a delicious smoky flavour.

To do it, you need to use an old Indian smoking technique called the dhungar method. It involves smoking the meat as it marinates with a piece of burning lump wood charcoal.

I used the dhungar method with step by step photographs in my air fryer tandoori chicken legs and air fryer lamb chops recipes. You can do the same with this recipe.

Just smoke the meat as it marinates as in those recipes and you will love the smoky flavour you get.

Can you work ahead?

Yes. You can mix meat mixture and even form the meat into koftas a day or so ahead of cooking. Doing so will also have flavour benefits as the spices melt into the meat.

Just be sure to cover either the meat mixture or koftas tightly to prevent them from drying out.

How long can you store leftovers in the fridge?

You can keep these, wrapped tightly in the fridge for about 3 days.

Then just place them back in your air fryer to reheat until heated through.

Can you freeze these cheese stuffed meatballs?

You can but if you've ever had a frozen pizza, you'll know that cheese doesn't freeze well. So I recommend freezing the meat without the cheese for later use.

If you have already cooked the koftas, go ahead and freeze them. You will probably notice that the cheese filling is as good though.

Pro Tips:

Use roasted gram flour: Roasted gram flour adds more depth of flavour. Normal gram flour will work though. You can purchase roasted gram flour or roast it yourself in a pan until fragrant and a couple of tones darker. It only takes a couple of minute.
Test for flavour: Once you mix the kofta ingredients, take a small amount and fry it up to see if you are happy with the flavour. That way you know all of the koftas are going to be just as you want them.
Smoking: Although not used this time around, you will love the smoky flavour you get with the dhungar method mentioned above. If you like smoky food, do it!
Rolling: Be sure to use wet hands when rolling the koftas. You will get a much smoother surface.

Step by step photographs.

Ingredients for the recipe. — Gather and prepare all your ingredients before you start. It's easier that way.

The kofta meatball ingredients in a mixing bowl. — Place all of the kofta ingredients except for the cheese in a mixing bowl.

Kneading the meatball mixture until the meat is broken down and smooth. — Knead these ingredients until well combined. You also want to break the meat down until smooth. It can take a few minutes.

The meat mixture divided into eight equal sized balls. — Divide the meat mixture into eight equal sized balls.

Stuffing the meatballs with cheese. — Make a deep indentation in one of the meatballs and fill it with cheese. Then work the meat around the cheese.

Rolling the cheese stuffed meatballs into smooth koftas. — Using wet hands, roll the kofta between your hand into a round smooth ball. Repeat with the remaining koftas.

Basting the koftas with ghee in the air fryer basket. — Spray the basket with oil and place the koftas inside. Baste each with some melted ghee and cook at 200°C/400°F for about 12 minutes.

Basting a cooked kofta. — About half way through the cook, give the basket a shake and baste the koftas again with ghee.

The cooked cheese stuffed meatballs in the air fryer basket. — After 12 minutes of air frying, the koftas will be sizzling hot and cooked through.

The koftas plated on a bed of lettuce, with lemons and sliced red onions. — Plate it up!

Squeezing a meatball to show the melted cheese. — Look at that! The cheese really adds to the kofta experience.

The koftas on a serving plate with an individual plate with an open kofta displaying the melted cheese. — Enjoy!

If you like this air fryer chapli kebab recipe, you might like to try some of these air fryer recipes too.

Have you tried this Air Fryer chapli kebab recipe?

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Yield: 4

Cheese Stuffed Meatballs (Kofta)

These cheese stuffed meatball (kofta) recipe is a delicious starter or it could even be a main. You can stuff the koftas with the cheese of your choice or just use Cheddar or Mozzarella as in the recipe. Air fryers are like mini tandoor ovens so you will get the real deal with this tandoori kofta recipe!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes

Total Time 22 minutes

Ingredients

1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds
500g minced beef or lamb
2 tbsp garlic, ginger and chilli paste
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground cumin
½ red onion, very finely chopped
3 tbsp coriander stems, finely chopped
3 green finger chillies, finely chopped
1 tbsp roasted gram flour (optional)
2 tbsp melted ghee
150g Cheddar cheese, grated
2 lemons, quartered to serve

Instructions

Using a pestle and mortar or spice grinder, coarsely grind the cumin seeds and coriander seeds. This should not be a powder. Pour the ground spices into a mixing bowl and add the remaining ingredients up to and including the gram flour.
Mix well to combine with your hands, kneading it all so that you break down the meat until smooth. This should take a couple of minutes. You can leave this to marinate for up to 48 hours or go straight to cooking. Allowing it all to marinate does have its flavour benefits.
When ready to cook, divide the meat mixture into eight equal sized round koftas. Place a bowl of water next to you. Take one of the koftas and press your thumb into it and then fill it with some of the cheese. Bring the meat around the cheese and then with wet hands and roll it into a neat ball.
Repeat with the remaining meat and cheese.
Now preheat your air fryer to 200°C/400°F. Spray the basket to coat with oil spray and then place the koftas inside. Baste each meatball generously with the melted ghee. If you are on a low calorie diet, you could just spray the koftas with oil.
Cook for 12 minutes, turning and spraying or basting with ghee again halfway through the cook.
Serve hot with lemon wedges. The lemon juice can be squeezed over the koftas to taste at the table. These are good served with a coriander chutney and/or your hot sauce of choice.