Indian-style seekh kababs a labor of love
While we were shopping at Costco the other day, I spotted a very neat and attractive eye round, cut in two pieces, and at a very reasonable price. The idea of making seekh kabab out of it immediately came to mind. Seekh kabab is made out of long and thin strips of meat marinated and threaded on a skewer.
There are two ways you can get those long and thin strips: Trim a piece from all sides of the long round piece to make it a long squared log, and partially freeze and cut thin lengthwise strips.
Or, you can cut the eye round lengthwise into thick slices, then partially freeze, stand up each round individually and start cutting a thin strip as you turn the round on a board, holding the knife at an angle and taking care not to cut the meat too thin so it gets separated from the semifrozen round you are holding up.
This second method is a bit tricky and requires a very sharp knife and some dexterity in maneuvering it, also a lot of patience. It is this challenge, and perhaps my orneriness that provoked me to choose this way. There were some 5 pounds of meat and 10 rounds to reduce to strips. It took some time, but I got through without cutting the strip prematurely.
There is another way too, the easiest. Some Indian grocery stores sell already cut thin strips meant for seekh kabab, or they may cut to order. But the choice of meat is then theirs, which may not be the best choice.
The beef strips are ready. Time now to translate them into flavorful skewered kebab. Kitchen Counselor is a weekly column about kitchen and cooking tips written by Gholam Rahman, a former staff writer for The Palm Beach Post. To reach him, email gholam_rahman@ pbpost.com