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This is the archived version of the Milk Street website and is no longer up to date.

Please visit 177milkstreet.com to see the current website with all of the latest recipes!

Spicy Ground Beef Kebabs with Tomato-Sumac Sauce

4 to 6 Servings

40 minutes

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This recipe is our take on kebab hindi that, despite its name, is a Levantine, not Indian, dish. In traditional versions, the meat mixture is formed into stubby cigar shapes—as if shaped around a skewer—and the kebabs are baked in a tomato sauce. We opted to form the meat into patties and cook them, sans sauce, under the focused heat of the broiler. When the patties are done, we use the same baking sheet to broil tomatoes and onion until softened enough to form a chunky, relish-like sauce. The sauce is seasoned with tangy ground sumac, which is sold in well-stocked supermarkets, spice shops and Middle Eastern grocery stores. If it’s not available, simply squeeze a little lemon juice into the sauce while stirring in the water after broiling. Serve with rice or flatbread.

4 to 6

Servings

Tip

Don’t discard the foil lining from the baking sheet after transferring the patties to a serving platter. Keep the foil in place so that cleanup is a breeze after broiling the tomato-onion mixture.

40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1½

    pounds 80 percent lean ground beef

  • 1

    large red onion, ½ finely chopped, ½ thinly sliced, reserved separately

Directions

Reviews
Jennifer P.
June 15, 2025
Incredibly tasty
Such a great recipe--served it with some yogurt sauce (with olive oil, salt/pepper & mint) on the side. No need for foil on the baking sheet btw--the tomato juice and water deglaze all the brown bits off the pan anyway.
Heather C.
November 12, 2023
Very tasty!
This was very good! It took longer than suggested, but that’s because separating the cilantro leaves from the stems was a pain. I finally just started taking off the stem below the first set of leaves & chopped that. Much faster! We will definitely be making this again!
Michelle H.
July 4, 2022
My kids love these!
Anything is a win if I can get my picky eater 7-year-old to eat it, and she requests these now. I make them mild with sweet paprika instead of spicy, because of my kids, but they devour them and they love the veggies too. Five stars for sure.
Hani Z.
March 11, 2024
So easy!
Great concept. Very good, but next time I will replace half the cinnamon with cumin or more allspice. It tasted a bit like a charred, beefy dessert, but I ate it all yup yum anyway.
Cindy H.
November 5, 2023
Very delicious, needs salt
Next time I will add 1T of salt (Diamond Crystal) to the meat mixture, versus the 1t suggested. Other than that, this was delicious and easy. I used the 3.5t of sweet paprika with .5t of cayenne and it was perfectly spicy. The sauce was delicious.
Cameron M.

This is worth it for the sauce alone. I have been in love with sumac ever since their mussahkan chicken recipe so used about a quarter cup. The sauce was so perfectly charred and savory I am thinking of so many other uses. The patties were good too but holy moly the sauce!


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