Kofta My Way
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A bit presumptuous, perhaps, since I have no Middle Eastern heritage at
all to speak of, but since I rather enjoy good Middle Eastern grill I
have no qualms whatsoever about making this. The flavors are fairly
authentic, but I suspect the combination of ingredients is naive at best
and probably wouldn't pass muster in Athens or Cairo.

Kofta is one of several pronunciations for a word that is essentially
Turkish-or-something for meatball; this recipe I think has a slight
Armenian/Greek accent. It's meant to be eaten as a sandwich on some
decent pita bread, but it's probably a lot more versatile than that; you
could, for example, serve it with couscous or a basmati pilaf.

Meat Mixture

2 lb ground lamb or beef 
1/2 c chopped parsley
1/2 c chopped mint
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 finely chopped onion

Mix together by hand until thoroughly combined. Form into balls and
place on flat skewers or form into patties. Grill or broil until well
done. Serve with lettuce, tomatoes, sliced peppers, pita bread, and
blender tzatziki sauce.

Blender Tzatziki

This is a pretty shameless bastardization of the classic cacik sauce. I
suspect it's pretty heretical, but it has the great advantage of being
pourable and therefore impressively messy.

1/2 medium pickle cucumber, peeled and sliced
1/2 c plain yogurt, preferably drained
garlic, to taste

Throw everything into the blender and liquefy. 

Substitutions

-You can add other flavors to the meat mixture -- garlic and allspice
come most immediately to mind, as well as any specifically Middle
Eastern flavor such as sumac or za'atar. Use your tastebuds or consult
your Lebanese grandmother. 
-If you're serving this as a main course, couscous, bulgur wheat, or rice are all appropriate side dishes. 
-You don't have to use pita -- lavash is fine as well, and if you're making
koftaburgers you could even use a regular old hamburger roll. 
-You can use other meats as well -- the Iraqis, for example, are said to favor
ground chicken. 
-Appropriate beverage: fruit juice or soda. Remember, most of the Middle East is Muslim.