Shami kebabs (lamb)
Melt-in-the-mouth and succulent, shami kebab is one of the easiest to make with a mixture of boneless lamb chunks and chana dal. These kebabs are an amazing appetizer as well as a tea time snack
Equipment
- Pressure cooker
- Frying pan
Ingredients
- 500 g lamb (or mutton/ goat meat) boneless chunks
- ½ cup chana dal washed and soaked in water for 2-4 hours
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tbsp coriander seed powder
- 1 tbsp shahi jeera caraway seeds
- 1 tbsp black peppercorns
- 1 inch cinnamon stick
- 3-4 cardamom pods
- 3-4 cloves
- 1 blade javitri mace
- 2-3 bay leaves
- 4-5 dried red chillis
- 1½ tbsp ginger garlic paste
- ¼ cup onions sliced
- 2 tbsp coriander leaves finely chopped
- 2 tbsp mint leaves finely chopped
- 2 tbsp chillis finely chopped
- 2 tbsp mustard oil
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 2-3 tbsp chaat masala
- ¼ cup oil for frying
- salt to taste
Instructions
- In a pressure cooker add all the ingredients along with ¾ cup water - except the chaat masala, ghee, chillis, mint and coriander leaves. Cook over medium high flame until the dal and the meat are completely cooked (mine took 20 minutes)
- Once done, remover from flame and let the pressure in the cooker subside. Open the lid (discard the bay leaves) and cook off any water left, on high heat, stirring continuously. This lamb-chana dal mixture has to be very dry, otherwise your kebabs will break while frying
- Remove the dried this in a mixing bowl. With a help of a spatula, mash the dal and the meat, until well combined - keep breaking the lamb/mutton chunks and mix well
- Add the ghee, chillis, mint and coriander leaves. Check for salt and adjust if needed. Divide the kebab mixture into 12 -14 equal portions
- Form each of them into a ball and then gently flatten them out to shape them like patties. Pinch and seal any cracks. Keep the shaped kebabs refrigerated for 15-20 minutes
- In a frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat and fry each of them until golden brown, all over. Remove on absorbent kitchen towels. Serve your yummy shami kebabs, drizzled with the chaat masala along with with a chutneys of your choice. Enjoy!
Notes
- A lot of recipes suggest running the dal and meat mixture (step 3) in a mixer-grinder, but I prefer mashing it using a spatula so that the meat doesn't loose it's texture and become pasty
- 1 cup = 250 millilitres
- tbsp - tablespoon
- tsp - teaspoon
- g - grams