Shami Kabab

These little patty kababs come packed with a lot of flavor! I also didn’t realize until a few days ago that it’s a mixture of a protein (usually ground beef/keema) and lentils (daal). My mom actually rarely makes them so we usually get them from someone else (usually during a trip to my aunt’s house), but she still compiled a recipe for me. These kababs are pretty versatile since you can eat them with a roti, rice, toast, or a burger bun. So you have the option of having it be part of a fancy dinner or just a quick lunch on the go – including school lunches!

SHAMI KABAB

INGREDIENTS

• 2 lbs ground beef
• 1 cup gram (chana) daal
• ½ cup fresh cilantro
• ½ cup mint leaves
• 4 serrano chilies, sliced
• 2 onions, cut in to medium chunks
• 2 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste (commonly found in South Asian and Middle Eastern markets)
• Garam masala
• Salt, to taste
• 10 whole dried red chilies
• 2 eggs, whisked
• Oil for frying

Garam masala:

• Cinnamon stick 1 inch
• Black cardamom 2 pcs
• 1 bay leaf
• Green cardamom 4 pcs
• Cloves whole 5 pcs
• Black pepper 10 pcs
• Cumin seeds 1 tsp
• Whole coriander seeds 1 tsp

1. In a medium pot, add 1 cup of water, ground beef and daal, salt, ginger-garlic paste, 1 onion and dried red chili. Mix it well, then cover the pot and cook on medium heat until the daal is tender and water dries. You don’t want any water in the mixture. Let it cool.
2. Grind the garam masala spices together and set aside.
3. In food processor, the grind ground beef-daal mixture. Make sure the daal is ground really well. Take it out of the chopper and set aside into a bowl.
4. In the same chopper, grind the rest of the onion, cilantro, mint, and green chili.
5. Add the onion, cilantro, mint and green chili to the beef-daal mixture. Add garam masala. Mix it well with your hands so everything is well incorporated.
6. Slightly wet your hands and form the mixture into patties of desired size.
7. Heat oil in a frying pan; we’ll be using medium heat.
8. Dredge the patty in the whisked eggs and shallow fry the patty on both sides on until golden brown. Add more oil if needed.