I am still mourning the loss of these kababs from Saturday night's Foodbuzz dinner. If you haven't a clue of what I speak, you really ought to click here
Don't get me wrong - I LOVE a good dinner party with good friends but I belong to that breed of hostesses who can't ever taste the food at my own party and only truly relish it after everyone has left - preferably barefoot, with my feet curled up on the couch and hopefully in my favorite flannels. Alas, that was not to be....an empty platter was all that was left for me.
I can write many a verse in elaborate description of just how good these little meat morsels turned out but I think our friend Terry described it best, "I couldn't believe the kabobs and was relieved that I restrained myself from trying to take another and put it in my pocket to savor the unique flavor yet again:)"
Now, if a humble kabab can reduce a decent, lovely woman to kleptomania, you have to ask yourself, just how good were those doggone things?
So the only decent thing left for me to do is to leave you with the knowledge to fix these yourself -
The main ingredients are ground beef (90%) or ground lamb, green onions, yellow onions, peeled garlic cloves, ginger root, black cardamons, cumin seeds, black peppercorns, cinnamon bark, cloves, dried red chillies, split chick peas (channa dal, available at Indo-Pak stores) vegetable oil, red chilly powder, turmeric powder and salt.
Cook's Note - These are traditionally made with ground beef but are delicious with lamb as well.
To begin with soak the split chick peas (channa dal) overnight.
Drain away the water a using a sieve. Measure 2 cups of the soaked channa dal.
Prepare the rest of the ingredients -
Onion - Peel & roughly chop the onion.
Garlic - Peel the garlic cloves.
Ginger - Peel the ginger.
Green onions - Discard root tip. Cut into 2" lengths including the green stalks
On medium heat, heat vegetable oil in a saute pan. Add the whole spices - cumin seeds, whole dried red chillies, cardamom pods, cloves & cinnamon bark. As soon as the cumin seeds crackle, add the roughly chopped garlic and ginger.
Saute for a couple of minutes. As soon as the garlic shows signs of slightly browning at the edges, add the ground meat.
Saute till the meat is no longer pink and has released all its liquid.
To the meat add the onions, salt, turmeric powder, garam masala powder and green onions.
Saute the meat and spices till all the liquid is dried up and only the fat remains in the bottom of the pan.
Add the soaked channa dal to the meat. Stir. Add 2-1/2 cups of water and bring to simmer.
Place a tight fitting lid on the pan and on low heat cook for about 1-1/2 hours until the channa dal is completely soft. Stir regularly to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Remove the large black cardamom's and the dried red chillies depending on your tolerance for heat. If you do not want it spicy retain only one chilly in the meat discarding the others.
Increase to medium heat and continue to saute the meat until ALL the liquid has dried up.
Continue to saute until there is NO moisture in the meat at all. The meat should now begin to stick at the bottom of the pan. Cook's Note - This is a critical step. If the kababs break in the pan it will be be due to the fact that the meat has liquid. So the successful making of the kababs depends on this step.
Place the meat in a food processor and grind with NO liquid added till completely fine. It will almost resemble flour. All the spices etc must be completely fine. Use the pulse button a few times if needed,
Add finely chopped cilantro leaves and thoroughly mix with clean hands. In a clean bowl, beat 3 eggs with a whisk until completely blended. Set aside.
Pull a chunk on meat in your hands and roll to form a 1-1/2" ball. Flatter to form 1/2" thick discs. Set aside.
Oops! I realized that in all the commotion with guests milling around the kitchen during the foodbuzz dinner, I forgot to take the pics for the next few steps. So I hope the explanation will suffice for now. I will add the remaining pics when I make it next!
Heat a non-stick frying pan on medium-high heat. Add ghee and heat for about 2 minutes till hot but not smoking. Dip each one of the meat patties into the beaten egg and place in the pan. Fry for about a minute or so on each side and then pan fry on the other side till golden brown on both sides.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
So there you have it - one of the most delectable kababs you'll ever have. The flavors and textures are unlike anything you've probably tasted.
The spices and creamy texture of the meat with that touch of graininess from the channa dal is wonderful. It's the perfect balance of texture, heat and spice that makes a great kabab!
Recipe for
Shami Kababs
Preparation time - 2 hours
Cooking time - 10 minutes
Serves 4-6
Shopping list
2 lbs ground beef & ground lamb
1- 1/2 cups channa dal (to get 2 cups soaked)
1-1/2"fresh ginger root
3 large black cardamom
14 cloves
1/2 tsp black peppercorns
4 dried red chilly
1-1/2" cinnamon bark
2 tsp cumin seeds
1-1/2 tsp garam masala powder
1-1/2 tsp turmeric powder
6 garlic cloves
1 small onion
1 tbs salt
4 tbs oil
3 tbs ghee for pan-frying
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
Preparation -
Channa Dal - To begin with soak the split chick peas (channa dal) overnight. Drain away the water a using a sieve. Measure 2 cups of the soaked channa dal.
Onion - Peel & roughly chop the onion.
Garlic - Peel the garlic cloves.
Ginger - Peel the ginger.
Green onions - Discard root tip. Cut into 2" lengths including the green stalks
Cilantro leaves - Finely chop and set aside in a bowl of water to prevent browning.
Cooking Method -
On medium heat, heat vegetable oil in a saute pan. Add the whole spices - cumin seeds, whole dried red chillies, cardamom pods, cloves & cinnamon bark. As soon as the cumin seeds crackle, add the roughly chopped garlic and ginger.
Saute for a couple of minutes. As soon as the garlic shows signs of slightly browning at the edges, add the ground meat.
Saute till the meat is no longer pink and has released all its liquid.
To the meat add the onions, salt, turmeric powder, garam masala powder and green onions.
Saute the meat and spices till all the liquid is dried up and only the fat remains in the bottom of the pan.
Add the soaked channa dal to the meat. Stir. Add 2-1/2 cups of water and bring to simmer.
Place a tight fitting lid on the pan and on low heat cook for about 1-1/2 hours until the channa dal is completely soft. Stir regularly to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Remove the large black cardamom's and the dried red chillies depending on your tolerance for heat. If you do not want it spicy retain only one chilly in the meat discarding the others.
Increase to medium heat and continue to saute the meat until ALL the liquid has dried up.
Continue to saute until there is NO moisture in the meat at all. The meat should now begin to stick at the bottom of the pan. Cook's Note - This is a critical step. If the kababs break in the pan it will be be due to the fact that the meat has liquid. So the successful making of the kababs depends on this step.
Place the meat in a food processor and grind with NO liquid added till completely fine. It will almost resemble flour. All the spices etc must be completely fine. Use the pulse button a few times if needed,
Add finely chopped cilantro leaves and thoroughly mix with clean hands. In a clean bowl, beat 3 eggs with a whisk until completely blended. Set aside.
Pull a chunk on meat in your hands and roll to form a 1-1/2" ball. Flatter to form 1/2" thick discs. Set aside.
Heat a non-stick frying pan on medium-high heat. Add ghee and heat for about 2 minutes till hot but not smoking.
Dip each one of the meat patties into the beaten egg and place in the pan.
Fry for about a minute or so on each side and then pan fry on the other side till golden brown on both sides.
Enjoy!
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