Shami Kababs

Shami Kababs

When it comes to recipes that have little or no oil what better person to ask than a physiotherapist or a dietician. My physiotherapist (Sabi) loves to cook which is why we invariably end up discussing food and recipes. This is a recipe that demands very little oil and yet, it’s delicious! All diet-conscious carnivores are going to love this one. 

Ingredients:

½ kilo boneless mutton cut into chana boti

4 small onions, each cut into 6 pieces

7 cloves

12 cloves garlic

½ inch ginger, chopped

½ teaspoon fennel seeds/saunf

½ teaspoon cumin seeds

12-14 peppercorns

10 dry red Kashmiri chilies

6 green chilies, each snapped into two

Salt, to taste

½ inch cinnamon

1 bay leaf

½ cup chana dal/split Bengal gram

A large handful of coriander leaves, chopped

A handful mint leaves, chopped

1½ teaspoon Shami Kabab masala (I used Laziz brand)

1 egg, lightly beaten

Oil, to shallow fry

Method:

1. Wash chana dal, soak in water for 15 minutes. Drain. Keep aside.
2. In a pressure cook add chana boti, onions, cloves, garlic, ginger, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, peppercorns, dry red Kashmiri chilies, green chilies, cinnamon, bay leaf and chana dal. Add salt to taste.
3. Add bare minimum water, just as much is needed without the contents burning and pressure cook till boti is cooked. (I used ½ cup water)
4. If there is water when you open the cooker, simmer the contents till all the water dries up completely.
5. Discard the bay leaf.
6. Cool the contents of the pressure cooker and grind in a mixer to a smooth paste. Do NOT add any water when you grind.
7. Add chopped coriander leaves, mint leaves, Shami Kabab masala and mix well.
8. Add one egg to the mince.
9. Shape the mince into flat round shami kababs.
10. Heat oil and shallow fry the kababs. Serve with chutney or sauce of your choice. 

Chef’s Notes:

1. This is a low-cal recipe as the kababs are to be shallow fried because the mutton is already precooked.
2. For all of you wondering what chana boti is. Boneless mutton cut as small as chana/gram is called chana boti. Smile a sweet smile at your butcher and request him to do it for you ;-) coz doing this at home is darn cumbersome.
3. If you do not wish to grind the whole spices/khada masala that are added to the mutton in the pressure cooker, feel free to remove them before grinding the cooked mutton.
4. This recipe is courtesy my physio, Dr Sabiha Nagani. 
5. You may share the direct blog-link of the recipe/s but do NOT publish my recipes and my photographs on any blog-site or website without my explicit consent or attempt to pass off my recipe/s as your own. You will be held accountable for plagiarism.