beef kofta kebabs

everything started with my husband's complain that i haven't cooked recently any bulgarian KIUFTETA(kiufte= bulgarian traditional grilled/fried meat patty, sort of like a hamburger but made with mix of beef and pork, onions, cumin and other spices). so i decided to make that for tonight's dinner. i thought i can pick up some ground beef and pork on my way back from a gig downtown. but the ugly day it was today, with rain and snow pouring like crazy i barely had a chance to quickly stop by the organic market on washington street in hoboken, where i got only beef. soo..my bulgarian dinner idea transformed into something more exotic- beef kofta kebabs! the same ones i used to get in arabic joints in the old days when i was baby-free and could smoke all the apple hookah i wanted..
then i realized i don't know how to work the broiler in our oven (we just rented this apt a couple of months ago and i haven't cooked much since). my husband, however was in a mood to go out despite the crappy weather(since he had been stuck at home with the baby all day), so he ran to this nearby kitchen gadget shop and got me a grillpan. i love it- you can cook on top of the stove and get even better results than an outdoor grill- no need to use oil, never sticks, easy to clean, made from titanium and basically lasts forever. anyway, i'm sure you can't quite relate to my excitement about this pan right now, so here's the recipe..
what you will need (and don't let the many spices scare you):
18 bamboo skewers, soaked in water for 30+ mins
1 pound ground beef (organic, grass fed, you know..)
2 medium/small yellow onions (finely minced/grated)
5 cloves garlic (minced)
1 small bunch parsley (leaves only), chopped
1 ts sea salt
1 ts ground cumin
1/2 tbs ground cinnamon
1 ts ground nutmeg
1/4 ts cayenne pepper
1 ts finely minced fresh ginger
1/2 ts ground black pepper

how to make it:
in a large bowl mix the ground beef with the garlic. add parsley and all the other ingredients mixing well with your hands (i know, yuck) or a fork until it's well blended together. shape the mixture into 18 small balls. flatten each ball around a skewer and shape as an oval. place the ready skewers on a parchment paper, cover with plastic foil and refrigerate for 30+ mins. cook on a preheated grill pan over medium heat, turning from time to time, until desired done-ness. i prefer well done, and it took about 4 minutes.

i served it with mixed herb avocado salad and greek yogurt.
say cheers with a shot of turkish yeni raki or just a glass of red wine (as we did) and follow up with a nice flavored tobbacco hookah and a morrocan mint tea (if you can):P