SHAAMI KEBAB

Making shaami kebab can be tricky and requires some practice. Once the mixture is ready, they can be made and frozen. Most of these are now prepared plain but in the old days, my mother would add a kachumar, stuffing, in the centre of the kebab. If you plan to freeze the kebab, then do not use onions in the stuffing because they release water and spoil the texture. The best way to ensure good quality meat for shaami kebab is to get the mincemeat made from pasanda, boneless chunks from the raan or leg of goat.

Interestingly, shaami kebab have nothing to do with Shaam, the Urdu, Persian and Arabic name for Syria. Why they are called shaami kebab remains a mystery. In Damascus, they have a dish with koftas in gravy called kebab hindi. In much the same way, these have nothing to do with Hind, Hindustan.

FOR THE KEBABS

½ kg mincemeat

1 cup chana dal (split bengal gram) 1 medium-sized potato, peeled 1 medium-sized onion, sliced into four 5-6 whole red chillies

1 inch ginger

4-5 garlic cloves

2 black cardamom pods

4 cloves

1 tbsp coriander seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

8-10 peppercorns

1 egg

Oil, for frying

Salt, to taste

FOR THE STUFFING, MIX TOGETHER 3-4 onions, finely chopped

Ginger, green chillies and mint leaves, all finely chopped, to taste

1 tsp lemon juice

Salt, to taste

Boil the mince with a cup of water along with all the kebab mixture ingredients, except the egg. Once the mince is cooked and dry, grind the mixture. Now add the egg and mix well. Make small, flat round cakes by rolling them with your palms and put a little stuffing in the centre. Once the kebabs are made, leave them in the fridge for a little while so that they set well. Keeping the flame low, shallow-fry the kebabs lightly on both sides till a golden crust appears. Drain excess oil on a paper towel, and serve.