Shami Kebab

The ultimate meat patty spiced delight

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 1

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Indian, Pakistani

Servings 18 shami kebabs

200 grams chana daal (3/4 mug) washed and drained of the water
1 tsp salt
800 ml water
1 tbsp rapeseed oil or any other oil you prefer
1 tbsp garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp ginger, finely chopped
500 grams mince lamb meat you can use, chicken, mutton or beef instead of lamb mince
1 onion, peeled and cut in half
3 green chillies, sliced down the middle
2 eggs one for binding the patties and one for coating the patties in before frying
3 tbsp of fresh coriander, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped optional

Add the chana daal, water and salt to the pressure cooker, bring to the boil. Then cover the pressure cooker with the lid. Once you hear the steam escaping, start to time the cooking of the daal, after 15 minutes turn off the hob and take off the lid.
There will be some remaining water in the pressure cooker, turn the hob back on and let it simmer on low heat until all the water has evaporated. This should take around 8-10 minutes.

Whilst the daal is cooking, I would start to prepare the mince. In another saucepan, heat the oil and then add the garlic and ginger. Stir through. Then add the mince meat, and break it down so there are no lumps, cook until the mince has browned.
Then add the chana daal, onion cut in half, the black cardamom, black peppercorns, salt , red chilli powder and green chillies. Cook on low heat for 12-15 minutes. Keep stirring through at regular intervals to make sure the mixture is not catching on the bottom of the pan.
Then take it off the cooker and remove the onion, black cardamom and try and to remove as many of the black peppercorns as possible.

Put the mixture in food processer and add in the garam masala, coriander powder, cumin powder and the beaten egg and blend until smooth.
You may need to stop blending half way through and use a spoon to move the mixture that has clung to the sides of the food processor into the middle of the processor again. Just ensure the mixture if fully blended until smooth or to a consistency you are happy with. There will be bound to be a few grains of the chana daal that haven't full blended with the meat, but this texture is absolutely fine.
Once blended, add the fresh coriander. (You can also add in a finely chopped onion at this point if you like a crunch to your shami kebabs). Mix through. I would taste for salt and chillies here.

Then make up your patties. If you are cooking the shami kebabs straight away, dip them in a beaten egg and shallow fry in a frying pan. Fry each side for 2-3 3 minutes. Make sure the oil is very hot before you start to fry.
When frying from frozen, I would pop the shami kebabs into your microwave and defrost for 1-2 minutes (make sure you do not fully defrost them, as the kebabs will crumble). Then dip the patties into a beaten egg and shallow fry. Spoon over the oil in the frying pan over the shami kebabs to make sure the kebabs are full defrosted.

If you are freezing your shami kebabs, then after you have made the patties put them in a layer in your food container (make sure they are not touching each other) and cover the layer with baking paper. Then add another layer of shami kebabs on top and cover with baking paper again until your container is full.

If you do not have a pressure cooker, at step 1, make sure the daal has been rinsed and soaked overnight. Then cook in a saucepan with salt until the lentils are tender. This will take 45 minutes to an hour.
Cooking the daal and the mince in their respective pans will save time and means you can have these kebabs made quicker.

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