Baked Meat Kefta with Yogurt Tahini Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 kg finely minced meat
• 400 g onion
• 1 piece tomato
• 1 piece green bell pepper
• 1 small piece ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried chili pepper (paprika)
• 2 cups yogurt
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1/4 cup, and to taste lemon juice

Instructions

1. Grind the onion with the ginger in a bowl or grinder until the mixture is fine, but not too fine.
2. Mix the minced meat with the ground onion and ginger in a large bowl.
3. Add the tomato and green bell pepper, if using, to the bowl with the meat.
4. Add the ground coriander, black pepper, salt, and chili pepper to the bowl with the meat.
5. Knead the meat well with your hands in the mixing bowl until the ingredients hold together.
6. Spread the meat mixture in a suitable baking tray and level it to an even thickness.
7. Moisten the surface of the mixture with a little cold water from a small bowl while shaping it.
8. Using your index finger, shape the surface of the meat in the baking tray into parallel lines, leaving spaces between them to collect the yogurt-tahini sauce later.
9. Preheat the oven to 200°C with both top and bottom heat on.
10. Bake the tray on the middle rack of the oven.
11. Mix the yogurt with the tahini in the sauce bowl.
12. Add the salt to the sauce bowl.
13. Add the lemon juice to the sauce bowl.
14. Stir the sauce in the bowl until it reaches a suitable consistency and becomes beige in color.
15. Once the meat is about 75% cooked in the oven, drain the excess liquid from the tray.
16. Spread the yogurt-tahini sauce over the top of the tray in the oven or in the tray itself.
17. Return the tray to the oven until fully cooked.