Albanian · main

Tavë Kosi (Lamb Baked Under Yogurt)

Name: Tavë Kosi (Lamb Baked Under Yogurt)
Prep time: 1 h 56 min
Total time: 2 h 16 min
Cuisine: Albanian
Ingredients: lamb shoulder roast — 1200 g; unsalted butter — 60 g; all-purpose flour — 50 g; full-fat sheep milk yogurt — 800 g; eggs — 400 g; short-grain rice — 100 g; garlic — 6 g; dried leaf oregano — 1 g; salt — 12 g; freshly ground black pepper — 5 g; water — 500 g; freshly grated nutmeg — 1 g

Tavë Kosi (Lamb Baked Under Yogurt) reads richness 8.5, umami 8.4 and allium 3.7 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Albanian main, about 2 hr 16 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 8.9 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 1.2 / 10
Sour & Bright — 1.5 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 2.4 / 10
Rich & Fat — 9.1 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 4.0 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Richness 8.5 · Umami 8.4 · Allium 3.7 · Salinity 3.7 · Earthy 2.3 · Warm Spice 2.1 · Nutty 1.7 · Herbaceous 1.5 · Funk & Ferment 1.5 · Sourness 1.5 · Sweetness 1.2 · Bitterness 1.1 · Heat 0.6

What's in it (12)

lamb shoulder roast — 1200 g
unsalted butter — 60 g
all-purpose flour — 50 g
full-fat sheep milk yogurt — 800 g
eggs — 400 g
short-grain rice — 100 g
garlic — 6 g
dried leaf oregano — 1 g
salt — 12 g
freshly ground black pepper — 5 g
water — 500 g
freshly grated nutmeg — 1 g

Time & effort: about 2 hr 16 min (1 hr 56 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 139.3 kcal, 10.8 g protein, 10.1 g fat, 4.1 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains dairy · Contains egg — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (8 steps)

Rub the lamb with the garlic, oregano, salt and pepper, dot 30 g of the butter over it, and roast in a deep dish at 190C for 50 minutes, turning the pieces once, until browned and the fat has rendered into the dish.
Lift the lamb out and set it aside. Pour the water into the hot dish, scrape up what has stuck, tip it into a small pan, add the rice and simmer 12 minutes. The rice should be half cooked and the liquid mostly gone; it finishes in the oven and its job is to hold the custard.
Melt the remaining 30 g butter in a pan over medium heat, stir in the flour and cook 3 minutes to a pale blond roux without letting it colour.
Whisk the yogurt, eggs and nutmeg together in a bowl until completely smooth.
Whisk a ladleful of the warm roux into the yogurt first, then return the lot to the pan off the heat and whisk again. Tempering matters here. Sheep milk yogurt is the traditional one and it splits readily if you shock it with heat.
Put the lamb back into the baking dish, scatter the rice around it and pour the yogurt custard over so the meat is just submerged.
Bake at 180C for 45 minutes, until the surface is set, puffed at the edges and freckled brown, and a knife tip comes out clean.
Rest 20 minutes. Tavë kosi is served warm rather than hot, cut in squares, and it should hold its shape on the spoon. It comes from Elbasan and is eaten across Albania and Kosovo.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Keşkek (Ceremonial Pounded Wheat and Lamb) — Turkish
Pierekaczewnik (Podlasie Tatar Layered Meat Pie) — Polish
Beef Wellington — British
Cemita Poblana de Milanesa — Mexican · Puebla
Swedish Meat Balls — Other

Keep reading: what richness, umami, allium mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

See how this dish fits your palate — take the short taste test →

Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.