Shami kebab

Servings

Calories 214kcal

Author Chhavi

Ingredients

½ Kg Boneless Mutton Mutton ,lamb or Beef
1 Cup Channa Dal yellow split peas
2 Cloves Garlic
1 Inch Ginger
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Small Onion Chopped ; about ½ cup
¼ Cup Mint Leaves
¼ Cup Coriander leaves cilantro
1 Green Chili Finely chopped
1 Teaspoon Ground Cumin
1 Teaspoon Chili flakes
1 Egg 1 for mixture ; 1 for frying
¼ Cup Ghee for frying

Whole Spices

1 inch Cinnamon Stick
2 Green Cardamom
1 Black Cardamom
1 Bay leaf
2 Cloves

Instructions

Soak the chana dal for 1 hour. Drain the water before using.

Cook Meat & Dal(Choose 1 cooking method)

Pressure Cooker - Add the meat, soaked dal, whole spices, ginger, garlic, and salt to the pressure cooker. Add 1 cup water, just enough to cover everything. Pressure cook for 10 minutes till the dal and meat is tender.
Instant Pot-Add the meat, soaked dal, whole spices, ginger, garlic, and salt to the inner pot. Add ¾ cup water, just enough to cover everything. Pressure cook on high for 20 minutes.
Stovetop- Add the meat, soaked dal, whole spices, ginger, garlic, and salt to the large pot. Add 4.5 cups water, just enough to cover everything. Cook until the dal and meat are tender, about 60 minutes.
There should be less than two tablespoons of water left. If not, saute to reduce the liquid.
Remove the whole spices. Let the mixture cool down.

Kebab mixture

Pulse the cooked dal and meat in a processor till it's pasty. You can use a stick blender, too.
Transfer to a large bowl. Add chopped onions, cilantro, mint leaves, ground cumin, chili flakes, and chopped chilies.
Taste test.Season with salt if needed.
Break an egg into the mixture and combine well.
If possible, refrigerate the mixture overnight. If not, pop it in the freezer for 5-10 minutes before you start shaping.It will make the handling easier.

Fry Kebab

Oil your hands and scoop out a ball of the mixture. Flatten using hands to shape into kebabs. Repeat for the rest of the mixture. If you want to freeze the kebabs for later, now is the time.
Heat a pan with ghee.
Slide it on the pan with ghee. Cook both sides till golden brown.

Notes

Moisture in the Shami Kebab Mixture

The leftover liquid after you pressure cook the dal and mutton together needs to be reduced until there are just about 1-2 tablespoons left.

You should ideally saute the mix till the liquid evaporates, leaving all the flavors behind.

In a pinch, strain the liquid out and add a little at the time of blending the meat and lentils to make the meat mixture.

Shaping Kebabs

Shaping kebabs gets easier as the kebab mixture cools down and the dal thickens. If you cannot make balls with it, stick the mixture in the fridge for a couple of hours before trying again.

If all else fails, toast a tablespoon of besan(chickpea flour or gram flour) and add it to the mixture.This will help in holding its shape.

Nutrition