Chicken Kofta & Lemony Couscous Bowls
with Pickled Cabbage & Mint Tzatziki
- Milk
- Wheat
If you’ve never tried kofta, allow us to introduce you! You’ll find this dish across the Middle East, Central and South Asia, and North Africa and it's made of ground meat (in this case, chicken) shaped into patties, meatballs, or kebabs. Here, it’s paired with a refreshing tzatziki sauce, pickled red cabbage, and a big helping of lemony couscous.
Ingredients
1 unit
Veggie Stock Concentrate
3 tablespoon
Sour Cream
(Contains: Milk)
10 ounce
Ground Chicken
¼ ounce
Mint
1 unit
Lemon
10 teaspoon
White Wine Vinegar
1 unit
Mini Cucumber
1 tablespoon
Shawarma Spice Blend
4 ounce
Shredded Red Cabbage
¼ cup
Panko Breadcrumbs
(Contains: Wheat)
1 teaspoon
Garlic Powder
¾ cup
Israeli Couscous
(Contains: Wheat)
Not included in your delivery
1 tablespoon (tbsp)
Olive Oil
3 teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
1 tablespoon (tbsp)
Sugar
2 teaspoon (tsp)
Cooking Oil
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
-
In a small pot, bring couscous, stock concentrate, and 1 cup water (2 cups for 4 servings) to a boil. Once boiling, cover and reduce heat to low. Cook until couscous is tender, 6-8 minutes.
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Meanwhile, wash and dry produce.
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Quarter lemon. Trim and grate cucumber on the largest holes of a box grater. De-stem mint; finely chop leaves.
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Once couscous is done, drain if necessary. Stir in 1 TBSP olive oil (2 TBSP for 4 servings), juice from half the lemon, salt, and pepper. Keep covered off heat until ready to serve.
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In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine vinegar, 3 TBSP water, 2 tsp sugar, and a pinch of salt (6 TBSP water and 4 tsp sugar for 4 servings).
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Stir in cabbage; microwave for 1 minute. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
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In a large bowl, combine chicken*, panko, half the garlic powder (you'll use the rest later), Shawarma Spice Blend, salt (we used ¾ tsp; 1½ tsp for 4 servings), and pepper. Form into small patties, 2-3 per person.
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Heat a large drizzle of oil in a large, preferably nonstick, pan over medium heat. Add patties and cook until browned and cooked through, 3-4 minutes per side.
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In a second small bowl, combine cucumber, mint, sour cream, remaining garlic powder, a pinch of salt, and pepper.
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Divide couscous between bowls. Top with chicken kofta, pickled cabbage (draining first), and mint tzatziki in separate sections. Serve with remaining lemon wedges on the side.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many loved the dish's unique flavors, especially the kofta and tzatziki, though some found it bland and wanted more seasoning.
- Ease of prep: Quick and easy for most, but some felt it took longer than the stated 20 minutes to prepare.
- Suggestions: Consider adding extra spices to the kofta, using yogurt instead of sour cream for tzatziki, and pickling cabbage longer for better flavor.
- Portions: Some wanted more couscous or sauce; others felt there was too much cabbage.
- Texture: A few found the chicken patties dry; try making them smaller or cooking at lower heat for juicier results.
Reviews from our home cooks
So delicious! I've enjoyed many HelloFresh meals, but this is definitely the best one I've had in a while. The shawarma spice blend is very tasty, and the texture of the kofta was very pleasing since there was not too much breadcrumbs so it wasn't too dense. The yogurt sauce was nice and fresh, and the pickled cabbage added a nice acidic bite. Overall, a very yummy and well balanced dish. I would definitely get it again if it appears on the menu again!
Loved trying kofta at home. This was a tasty meal. The chicken tasted almost like falafel. The balance of lemony couscous, pickled cabbage, and mint tzatziki with the chicken was really nice.
This was an all-around delightful dish! Everything worked well together-the textures and flavors were excellent, from the savory and soft couscous to the tangy pickled cabbage, the creamy and herbal tzatziki, to the spiced meat patties. We substituted beef instead of chicken and it was quite tasty!
Good flavor and easy and quick to make. I moved some steps around to make it more efficient. I would say a medium bowl might be better for the pickled cabbage for mixing everything together. Making pickled cucumber salad would be a nice touch.
Tastes really good. I cooked the cabbage a little longer to soften it. Also cooked the kofta in the air fryer instead at 400 for maybe 8 minutes.
Very tasty! I would change the order and do the cabbage first so it can actually chill in the fridge while one makes the rest. Wondering if lemon juice would work better than the vinegar for the cabbage? The tzatziki is delicious, it would have been great to have a little more.
OUTSTANDING!! We would make this anytime. I wish I could attach pictures to show you how gorgeous this bowl looked when I plated it. Flavors were impeccable - we really enjoyed the mint tzatziki!
So good! Wonderful combo of flavors. Loved the fresh mint. Would give this 5 stars or 10 if I could. Would love it if this recipe was a regular option
It was good - but not our favorite. The pickled cabbage wasn't really anything special. The lemon had a rotten spot. The kofta was pretty good - but would have liked a little more. The couscous was our least favorite of all the couscous we've had from Hello Fresh.
Good quick meal, liked the flavors. I found it hard to cook the kofta all the way through without the turkey being dry: maybe smaller patties or lower heat.
