Thursday, January 13, 2011

Oil-free Shami Kebabs, Well Almost

Shami Kebabs are probably one appetizer which has kept united Indian and the Mughal cuisines in every which way. These richly flavored, patty-shaped kebabs are traditionally made with soaked chana dal and shallow fried.

IMG_0693 But I was in a hurry to make them and also cater to some non-Indian palates. Hence I chose the oven-route, and used sattu instead of Bengal gram. Baking them in the oven also meant very little oil. Something men and women all over the world are so cautious about.

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Ingredients for Shami Kebabs are:

500 mince meat (lamb/goat/beef)
2 eggs
1 small red onion, very finely chopped
4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 inch root ginger, minced
5-6 green chilies, minced
Handful of fresh coriander, very finely chopped
Half a teaspoon of freshly ground garam masala
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
10 whole black peppercorns
2-3 tablespoons sattu
2 tablespoons Canola oil
Salt

In a large mixing bowl, pound together everything except the oil.
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Take lime-size balls of the meat mixture and flatten them between the palms of your hands. Makes about 15-17 kebabs.
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Pre-heat oven to 350° F. Line a baking tray with aluminum foil. Place the kebabs on the tray and drizzle the oil, few drops on each.
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Bake these for 30-35 minutes, turning them at the halfway mark. Alternatively, you can shallow fry them in a hot pan till the meat is cooked through.

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Serve with fresh coriander chutney, hummus, slices of onions, and lemon wedges. I like mine with these non-heat, deep fried green chilies.
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Also, the winner of my Blog’s first birthday giveaway is Aipi, the desi cook in an American kitchen! Thank you for coming to my party, Aipi. 38 

P.S. More kebab recipes and pictures from PreeOccupied are here.

14 comments:

GB said...

Dang it! I had my eye on the prize! waaaaaaahhh!!!(those are bucket loads of tears, woman--the salty kind!!)

Love the sattu in the kababs--did they taste any different?-baked vs fried? They look amazing. and I have a sudden hankering for fried green....

...chillies!

aipi said...

woohoooo! I totally nailed it :) Pree I am totally excited to have won this beautiful piece of traditional art. What a wonderful work you've done. I have sent you my information in email. Can't wait to get my hands on it. Oh... totally forgot about your kebabs... I make the vegetarian version but love your idea of using sattu... will surely try it next time.

take care
US Masala

Home Cooked Oriya Food said...

looks so good... I will try it...
Lucky Aipi - that piece is awesome!

Tanvi@Sinfully Spicy said...

Finally...I have got the verdict,So kebabs can be baked! I make them all the time & tawa cooking is pain at times.I love those chillies& onions you have served along.Yumm!

Spice said...

Kabab looks tasty....I do almost similar kind with little changes & no egg & always in the oven....we call it meatballs(dear daughter feels it's more american that way...kids...lol!)

Gouri Guha said...

Its good news for me...baking the kebebs. aami shob somoy fry kori. ebar tomar style adopt korbo...kintu sattu...kemon taste hobe Pree? in two minds in this area.
Lovely starters...just miles away from getting a share.
Bhalo theko.

Sayantani Mahapatra Mudi said...

baking the kebabs...chalo ei deal ta seal hoe gelo. ami abosyo paneer die banabo. oi sada serving platter tao tumi baniecho???asadharon.
betw amar post e oi warli paintings er piece gulo handmade greetings card. tomay bodhay bola hayni Sanitiniketan e amader nijeder production unit ache. amra mostly hand embroidery, batik, block printing er bhibhinno jinish banai. ei card gulo recently baniechilam new year er jonyo.

Shilpi Bose said...

Health concerns determine our food habit nowadays, thanks to the unavailability of good quality lean meat of lamb in Bombay my mum who often made shami kababs now makes fish kabab adapting the shami kabab recipe to fish, I recently put up the recipe in my blog. However baked shami kabab this is indeed interesting and definitely healthy.

Priya Suresh said...

Baking kebabs is truly a delicious way to enjoy without any guilt, delicious!!..Congrats to Aipi..

Sharmila said...

Dhur ... ei rokom snaps dekhe ki kichu lekha jaaye ... shudhu khide baare.
Darao .. ektu mon bhore snaps gulo dekhi ... khete toh parbona. :-(

Kalyan Karmakar said...

The kebabs look awesome. Banu would approve I think

Unknown said...

yummy! just what i need on a cold evening.

Unknown said...


very nice. step by step pictures..looks so good and beautiful. thankyou for shearing. non-veg Recipe

vezlay said...

i love soya food and thanks for this post i like this information please provide few more information about this post shami kabab