Source video by Latifs Inspired on YouTube. This recipe was adapted with strict source-fidelity rules and is marked for human review.
This recipe recreates the doner kebab from your local takeaway using lamb mince blended with extra lamb fat (around 30 to 40 percent fat to meat) for the right creamy texture. The mince is seasoned with smoked paprika, cumin, garlic, white pepper and parsley, bound with a little Greek yogurt and olive oil, then shaped thin, folded fan-style and cooked. It is finished under the grill for a crisp edge and served in flat bread with a yogurt and mayo white sauce, a rustic Scotch bonnet chilli sauce and a cabbage, lettuce and red onion salad. The original method uses an oven at gas mark 8; this version has been adapted to the air fryer.
Air fryer notes: Source cooked the shaped kebab in a conventional oven at gas mark 8 (around 230 to 250°C) for 15 minutes, then finished under the grill. Adapted to the air fryer at 200°C for 12 to 15 minutes, followed by 2 to 3 minutes at 200°C after slicing to replicate the grill crisping step. Salad, white sauce and chilli sauce are still prepared off the appliance as in the source.
Ingredients
- 700 glamb mince with extra lamb fat, around 30 to 40 percent fat to meat ratio
- 1.5 tspfine salt
- 1 tspgarlic powder
- 1 tspground white pepper
- 2 tspsmoked paprika, sweet, not hot
- 2 tspground cumin
- 1 tspdried parsley
- 4 tbspGreek yogurt
- 4 tbspolive oil
- 3 tbspolive oil
- garlic cloves, finely chopped
- red onion, finely chopped
- 0.5 wholeScotch bonnet chilli, finely chopped
- tomato, chopped
- 0.5 tspsalt
- 1 tbspdistilled malt vinegar (add late)
- mayonnaise
- Greek yogurt
- gherkins, finely chopped
- dried dill
- garlic, crushed
- white cabbage, finely shredded
- lettuce, shredded
- red onion, thinly sliced, soaked in cold water
- flat breads, warmed
Method
Prepare the salad: shred the white cabbage and lettuce and slice the red onion thinly. Soak the red onion in cold water to take the edge off, then drain.
~5 minMake the white sauce: combine Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, finely chopped gherkins, dried dill and crushed garlic in a bowl. Mix well and chill.
~3 minMake the chilli sauce: heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a karahi or heavy pan. Add the chopped garlic and red onion and cook until the garlic is golden and sweet.
~4 minAdd the chopped Scotch bonnet and the tomato. Cook over medium heat, breaking down the tomato until soft and mushy, then reduce the heat and let it cook through. Season with about half a teaspoon of salt.
~8 minTurn off the heat and stir in 1 tablespoon of distilled malt vinegar. Leave to cool. Keep it rustic, or blitz with a stick blender if you prefer a smoother sauce.
~1 minMake the doner mix: put the lamb mince with extra fat in a food processor with the salt, garlic powder, white pepper, smoked paprika, cumin, parsley, Greek yogurt and olive oil. Blitz until smooth, pink and paste-like.
~3 minOil your hands and a sheet of parchment or foil-backed parchment. Press the mince out as thinly as possible into a rectangle, then fold it concertina or fan style in folds about 1.5 inches wide to build the layers.
~5 minPreheat the air fryer to 200°C. Sit the folded kebab on parchment in the basket and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until cooked through and the fat has rendered out.
~15 minRest the kebab briefly, then slice thinly against the grain. Return the slices to the air fryer basket at 200°C for 2 to 3 minutes to crisp the edges, replacing the grill finish in the original.
~3 minWarm the flat breads, then build each kebab with salad, sliced doner, white sauce and chilli sauce. Serve immediately.
~3 min