Shami Kebab

Meat recipes are very popular all over the world. Most of the people of the world like meat recipes. Meat is available all over the world. Shami Kebab is one of them. Shami kebab literally means Syriankebab (Sham) in Arabic. It is found mainly in India and Pakistan. It is also popular in Afghanistan and Azerbaijan. It is a composed of small patty minced beef or mutton, ground chickpeas and spices. It is a popular snack in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. Some spices are needed to prepare this recipe. The method of preparation is given below; 

Ingredients:

• 1 kg (2 lb) ground meat
• ¼ cup split chickpeas
• 4 cardamoms
• 2 sticks 2.5 cm piece cinnamon
• 2 cloves
• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 3 teaspoons coriander seeds
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 egg
• 4 dry red chillies ( optional)
• 2 teaspoons minced ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 lemon, rind and juice
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons chopped mint leaves
• 2 tablespoons chopped raisins
• 2 tablespoons grated cheese
• 3 tablespoons chopped onion
• Oil for frying
• Salt to taste

Method of preparation:

1. In a saucepan, place the meat, chickpeas, spices, 2 tablespoons of oil, sugar, salt and ½ cup of water.
2. Cover and cook over a low heat for 25-30 minutes. stir the meat and cook till all the water has been taken up. Stir-fry for 2-3 minutes. remove from heat and let to cool.
3.  Discard the bay leaf and grind the cooked meat. Add the egg, lemon rind, lemon juice and mix well. make 20 balls.
4. Mix together the mint leaves, raising, cheese and onion. stuff a meat ball with 1 teaspoon of the mixture. To make the ball flat press it with your palms in such a manner that it becomes somewhat thinner around the edges than in the centre.
5. Heat oil to sizzling temperature. Fry the kebabs in batches.

You can serve this recipe with ketchup, hot sauce, chilli garlic sauce or chutney.
Yields 8-12 servings.