Friday 3 July 2009

Shaami Kebab


When Sonia was here she made lots of
delectable food, which is
her special talent.
She conjured up shaami kebabs one day.
Let me share the recipe.
For that you need mince meat.
It can be either lamb or beef.
The Americans call it hamburger.
You boil or pressure cook the mince meat
with chopped up garlic, ginger,
and garam masalas which are
whole spices -
cardamom, pepper corn,Cinnamon stick and cloves
bay leaves , dried red peppers and salt.
You also have to add channa dal
or gram lentils to it.
This is what it looks like after the meat and spices are well cooked.

Now you have to grind the mixture.
We use my grandmother 's old grinding stone
called sil-batta.
You can use an electric
blender/mixer.
But it always comes our better the old fashioned way.
The grinding stones have to be kept plucky
by "sharpening" them.
Grinding stone women come around with a chisel and hammer and do the job for you.
Sonia completed the task very adroitly
You have to discard the larger spices as they
are too big to grind.
This is the ground meat

Now you chop up
fresh green coriander,
onion
and green chili

mix it with the meat and form little patties.
Heat mustard oil until it smokes and releases its flavors.
Shallow fry the patties in this oil. You can use any kind of vegetable oil We are using our old iron griddle
called tava. It is also used to bake our chapatis.
Its a must in Indian households.
Here they are.
Shaami kebabs to be eaten with chapatis, nans,
rice or even in a burger bun.
Now who wants to try them?

17 Fertilize my soul:

madison said...

Thanks for the recipe. I'm going to have to try this for hubby. I actually have all the ingredients, including the tava and channa dal, lol. Can you believe it, lol?

Olde Dame Penniwig said...

Gosh, that looks delectable, Amrita!

We have a grinding bowl and pestle here, for our Mexican dishes. We call it a "molcahete." And our little griddle we call a "comal."

But we have no recipe like that, even though many dishes are spiced similarly. We call the fresh coriander "cilantro."

The dish that this most reminds me of is called "picadillo," but I can just tell that Sonia's recipe is even better, because it is no doubt meltingly tender.

Sometimes I am very tired of being a vegetarian and wish to eat these meat dishes!

Are the rains continuing? I hope you and Mother Hazel are well.

Amrita said...

Hii Madison, you try it, your hubby will love htem, Punjabis are very fond of kebabs. If you want the exact proportions and stuff you can goole a recipe too, there are lots of them, even milder tasting ones.

Hello Penni,
I am surprised to har that you are a vegetarian. Is it because of health reasons?
You can substitue meat for soy granules,. I even make the patties with the peel of courgettes. They taste good.

Must goolge for the dish you mentioned sounds good. I love experimenting and trying new things....that 's my stress buster LOL.
Piccadillo is an animal too isn 't it?

The bowl and pestle are also found her to grind our spices etc.

Mom Hazel is better. Just now we called a barber home to trim her hair.
She is eating better now. This am she had 3 slices of toast - that a great improvement.

We 've had some showers but the rains have backed off for a while. We 'll get them off and on.

Keep cool yoou 'll and have a super 4th celebration. Americans have bar-b q 's don 't they?

Julia Dutta said...

Hey Amrita,
Even the food books couldn't do it better. Its yummy! I like the old grinding stone as well. In my flat in Kolkata, I too have one. The good thing about it is it grinds small and large quantities, which a grinder can't and does a perfect job. I love it too :)))
Julia

Amrita said...

Thank you Julia. The good old grinding stone comes handy when the bijli id off too.
Riding the Didi Express? She 's got off a good platform.

Crown of Beauty said...

Hi Amrita, this is so interesting. I wish there was a way I could buy a grinding stone like what you showed in your blog. I noticed the grinding stone has a smooth finish. I love the way you showed us the pictures of each step, until the finished product ready to be served to hungry eaters!

Thank you, and I'm rejoicing with you for the rain that has finally come in answer to our prayers.

Simply Shelley said...

Hi Amrita,looks really tasty...I am so thankful for your rain....

Blessings,Shelley

Connie said...

Oh that sure looks good,bet it smells delightful when it's cooking.Thanks for visiting me,I was so glad to hear from you.Bless you sweet dear girl.

Saija said...

it looks yummy ... and also very artistically displayed ... you have quite a skill for these things ... my cooking skills have grown rusty over the last years because the smell of food cooking makes leo nauseous, so we eat alot of very simple foods & sandwiches ... not much prep time for any of it ...

N Abram said...

Hi Amrita, thanks for visiting my blog. This recipe seems fantastic, i'll need a few more ingredients though! I love curry but i think that in England they are a little bit different! Have you been in England before. I've never been to India but i'd love to!Have a blessed week and give my love to your all your family and friends. Nicky

Brad the Dad said...

Oh my!! I, as a Canadian, am wondering what these would taste like barbecued. If that is a sacrilege I will tell no one (except the neighbor who asks what that divine smell is wafting from our back yard).

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

Hmm, looks very delicious to me. Suddenly I got a craving for king size burger. They really look like burgers. Thanks for the post. God bless you always.

Sherri Murphy said...

Yummy! I'd love to try it.

Amrita said...

Hi Nicky, welcome to my blog. No I have never been to UK but have friends and cousins there.
Oh please do visit India, but in the cooler season.
I enjoyed visiting you.

Hi Brad,
I was about to comment on your blog -very thought provoking entry anfd the lights went out, I come around again.

You can barbque the kebabs to.

Yes mel you can make a spicey hamburger with them.

Gerry said...

They sound utterly delicious, especially with spices. I was also fascinated with how you sharpen the grinding stones. Once in our home town, a grinding stone circle was discovered where the Anasazi women used to gather to grind their corn. They were boulders with round indentations worn in them. Our town is named Boulder for these ubiquitous stones of lava origin all over. Now if this had been in India you would no doubt still be making use of them. By the way, I saw on the news a day or so ago the monsoon was flooding some parts of India, I hope not where you are. When it rains it pours. Gerry

Pia said...

i just had beef kebab last night. i love it!

wish i could get those shaami from my screen and eat them. looks yummy... and hot!!!

Donetta said...

I hope your fruits all set well. Now that okra is one thing I am not attempting to plant because I would never eat it. A childhood story :)
The heat is melting the gardens now. It is so so hot! I see that the time for the soil to rest is fast approaching.
I hope that this finds you well. How is your Mother? Is there any improvement in your relations? You really an amazing woman you know well if you do not know that then I will tell you :)