The meatball has become so synonymous with Italian food it’s easy to forget there is a world of variation out there.

Italian meatballs are just one part of a large family of spherical minced meat dishes, which have roots in the Middle East, South Asia, North Africa and much of Europe.

Kofta, a particularly flavorful variety of meatball generally found in the Middle East and India, get much of their taste from seasonings often associated with curries, as well as fresh herbs such as mint and cilantro.

Though lamb is traditional, the type of meat used in kofta can vary widely. As can cooking method. Grilling, frying, steaming and poaching are common. Grilled kofta often are cooked on skewers.

In some places, kofta can be quite large, even stuffed with other foods, such as boiled eggs. But for this recipe the kofta are a more traditional American meatball size and eaten as one would falafel, wrapped in pita bread and topped with yogurt.

As with most meatball recipes, this one is easily adapted to suit personal tastes. And if you’d rather not have a wrap, consider serving these kofta over a bed of rice with curry sauce (some excellent prepared sauces are available).

In fact, if you plan to serve them with sauce, consider skipping the broiling and cook them in the sauce in a skillet. For this variation, brown the kofta with a bit of oil in the pan, then add the curry sauce and simmer over low heat about 15 minutes.

They also can be skewered and grilled. Place three to four kofta on each skewer and grill over a medium-hot flame, turning occasionally, for 5 to 7 minutes, or until cooked through.

Don’t be intimidated by the number of ingredients in this simple-to-assemble recipe. The food processor does the majority of the work. And if you’d rather not buy both ground lamb and turkey, use a pound of one rather than a half-pound of each.

Lamb Kofta with Yogurt Sauce

Olive oil cooking spray

2 slices day-old crusty white bread, lightly toasted

1 medium yellow onion, quartered

1/2 cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley

1/4 cup loosely packed fresh mint

2 cloves garlic

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger

1/2 Tbsp. Thai red curry paste

1 large egg

1/2 pound ground lamb

1/2 pound ground turkey

4 large round pita breads

2 medium tomatoes, diced

Place an oven rack in the center position of the oven. Preheat the oven to broil. Lightly coat a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil cooking spray.

Place the bread in a food processor and pulse until it forms fine breadcrumbs. Add the onion, parsley, mint, garlic, cumin, cinnamon, chili powder, salt, black pepper, ginger and red curry paste, then continue pulsing until finely chopped. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl.

Mix the egg into the onion and herb mixture. Add the lamb and turkey and use your hands to thoroughly mash everything together. Shape the mixture into 12 egg-size balls and arrange on the prepared baking sheet.

Lightly spray the kofta with olive oil. Broil for 8 minutes, then use tongs to rotate each kofta and broil an additional 7 minutes.

Rotate the kofta again and broil another 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand 5 minutes.

Wrap the pitas in foil and place in the oven for 1 to 2 minutes, or just long enough to heat.

Arrange three kofta down the center of each pita, then top with diced tomato and yogurt sauce (recipe follows). Wrap the pita around the kofta.

Yogurt Sauce

1 cup plain yogurt (Greek-style is good)

1 Tbsp. chopped fresh dill

1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded and finely diced

1 tsp. lemon juice

Salt and freshly ground black pepper.

In a small bowl mix together the yogurt, dill, cucumber and lemon juice. Refrigerate while preparing the kofta. When ready to serve, season to taste with salt and pepper. Makes about 1-1/2 cups

 J.M. Hirsch can be e-mailed at jhirsch(at)ap.org.