Khala's Kababs

                       
Kababs were commonly eaten in subcontinent Asia but have garnered global momentum with every region and family having its unique recipe and ingredients. Kababs are the most versatile of all culinary treats. For these kebab beef, lamb or chicken mince can be used; keep in mind the mince should not have too much fat. I was introduced to this particular recipe by my aunt Husseini & were often part of her menu. My maternal grandmother had culinary expertise which she passed on to my aunt. These kebabs maybe fried grilled or BBQ-ed

Serves: 3-4 

Ingredients: 
Mince 1/2 kilo beef, lamb or mutton
White cumin seeds powder 1 tspn
coriander powder 1 tspn
Gram flour dry roasted 1 1/2 tbspn
Almonds 6-8 [ground very fine]
Red chilly powder 1/2 tspn
Ginger paste 1 1/2 tspn
Garlic paste 1 tspn
Onion 2 medium sliced.
Meat tenderizer papaya paste 1 tbspn
Yoghurt 3 tbspn
Cilantro chopped 2 tbspn
Green chillies 2 finely chopped
Garam masala powder 1/2 tspn
Oil 3-4 tbspn
salt to taste

Method:

1. Marinate mince with ginger paste and papaya paste, and keep aside.
2. In a pan put 1 1/2 tbspn oil and fry the sliced onion to golden brown color. Remove the onion from the oil and spread in platter covered with paper towel.
3. Mix the rest of the ingredients to the yoghurt and add it to the marinated mince and leave it covered for an hour.
4. Crush the fried onion and add it to marinated mince.
5. Make kebab and shallow fry or grill them or bar be cue them.
6. Serve with Yoghurt raita; onion, cucumber and tomato salad; nan paratha or puri.

Mince Cutlets / Mince Kababs

Cutlets, another form of kababs, are another popular delight in my family. They are quick to make & can be a main dish along with lentil curry; or served as a side dish within an elaborate entertainment menu; or as a snack served with chutney & salad; or a quick meal for kids by putting between buns to make a home made burger. My children often like to eat these during hot summer days topped with sliced cucumbers & onions, pickles, ketchup or chili sauce. They can be made with lamb, beef or chicken mince. You can get as creative as you want with kababs. 

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:

Mince: 0.5kg
Egg: 1
Garam Masala powder: 0.5tspn
Green chillies: 2-3
Oil: 1tspn
Bread: 2-3 slices
Garlic paste: 1 tspn
Ginger paste: 1 tspn
Onion: 1; small
Salt: to taste
Breadcrumbs: 0.5cup
Oil to deep fry

Method:

1. In a food processor add the onion cut in four, green chilies and bread slices broken into 2-3. Process these ingredients till crushed.
2. Add garlic paste, ginger paste and egg to the ingredients in food processor & process for a couple of seconds.
3. Mix mince along with garam masala, oil and salt as well as the crushed ingredients from food processor.
4. Make small balls or flat patties. In a platter pour out the bread crumbs. Coat the cutlets in the crumbs.
5. Break an egg in a bowl beat lightly, dip the cutlets and deep fry on medium low heat for 10 - 15 minutes or till they are done. They should be brown from outside { not very dark} cut in half mince should be cooked.

Qeema Karela - Bitter gourd with Mincemeat

Recipe requested by my nephew's wife, Kamila.

 

Bitter gourd (karela) lowers blood glucose levels, is a great source of Vitamin K; helps build immunity; encourages glowing skin if consumed regularly; lowers cholesterol. Endless benefits to this bitter tasting vegetable. The bitter taste can be offset & diminished (as demonstrated in this recipe) and enjoyed in different ways: fried, cooked with lentils, cooked with tomatoes & onions, or mixed in with meat.

 

This dish can be enjoyed with chappati, rice or mixed with freshly chopped salad & quinoa.

Serves: 6

 

Ingredients:

Bitter Gourd: 0.5kg

Oil: 3Tbsp

Onions: 5; medium; sliced

Mincemeat (Qeema) (mutton, beef or chicken): 0.5kg

Garlic Paste: 2tsp

Ginger Paste: 2tsp

Cayenne Pepper: 0.5tsp

Turmeric Powder: 0.5tsp

Coriander Powder: 1tsp
Cumin Powder: 0.5tsp

Tomatoes: 2

Aniseeds: 0.5tsp*

Coriander Seeds: 0.5tsp*

Cumin Seeds: 0.5tsp*
Yoghurt: 3Tbsp

Green Chilies: 2-3 chopped

Cilantro: 2Tbsp chopped

Lemon Juice: 2tsp

 

*crush coarsely

 

Directions:

1. Prepare the bitter gourd in the following manner:

1.1 After washing, scrape the skin; cut & remove the seeds. 

1.2 Slice the bitter gourd in medium size rings; add 0.5tsp turmeric powder, generous helping of salt and keep aside.

1.3 Squeeze the bitter gourd between your palms, wash well & squeeze out all the water.

 2. In a frying pan, add 1Tbsp oil & half of the sliced onions. Fry the onion till pink, add the sliced

    bitter gourd, & stir to combine. Keep frying for a further 10 minutes till the onions gourd turn
    golden brown. Close the flame and keep aside.

3. In another pan, add 2Tbsp oil & fry remaining onions to a golden brown color.

4. Add the mincemeat & fry till meat changes color.

5. While mince is cooking, in a small bowl add garlic paste, ginger paste, cayenne pepper, 

    turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder & salt. Mix with a little water to make a paste.

    When the mince turns color, add the spice mixture to the mince. Stir to combine & keep cooking ]

    for 15-20 minutes on very slow flame. 

6. Wash & chop the tomatoes & blend in a food processor (or finely chop & pound in a mortar &

    pestle). Add the blended tomatoes to the cooking mince.

7. When the water of the tomatoes dry add the fried bitter gourd, the coarsely ground cumin seeds,

    coriander seeds, & aniseeds & yoghurt. Turn the flame to very low and cook till bitter gourd

    softens & water of yoghurt dries.

8. Before turning off the flame, add the chopped green chilies, cilantro, lemon juice.

 

Fried Masala Chops

Always wiped clean on my dinner table, this dish is a weekly compulsory addition to a dinner menu. It was also a staple part of my mother's dinner menu. Generally eaten BBQ'ed or in curry form; my food loving kids prefer it fried. A healthier option is to grill it in the oven. Easy to make & quick to prepare & so satisfying for the tummy. Can be served with baked potatoes & salad.

 

Serves: 4-5

Ingredients:

Mutton Chops: 0.5kg
Yogurt: 0.25cup
Garlic Paste: 1tsp
Ginger Paste: 1tsp
Cilantro (chopped): 2Tbsp
Green chilly: 1 (optional)
Salt: to taste
Pepper: to taste
Flour: for coating
Egg wash: for coating
Breadcrumbs: for coating
Oil: to deep fry

Directions:

1. Marinate 0.5kg mutton chops in 0.25cup yogurt, 1tsp garlic paste, 1tsp ginger paste for 30mins (or more).
2. Put marinade and chops, with 2Tbsp chopped cilantro & 1 green chili (optional) in a pan & cook covered on medium-low heat.
3. When marinade dries & chops are just tender, remove from flame & add salt & pepper to taste.
4. Coat in flour & egg wash; cover in breadcrumbs and deep fry till golden brown.
5. If grilling, preheat griddle, grease with oil and grill chops till golden brown.

Kofta - Meatball Curry

Serves: 6

 

 

Ingredients:

 

Mincemeat (chicken, mutton, beef): 0.5kg

Onion: 3 medium

Garlic Paste: 1tsp

Ginger Paste: 1tsp

Coriander Powder: 1Tbsp

Tomato: 1 medium

Green Chilies: 5

Cilantro: 3Tbsp

Bread: 2 slices

Yogurt: 0.5cup

Turmeric: 0.25tsp

Cayenne Pepper: 0.5tsp

Salt: to taste

Cumin Seeds: 1tsp

Peppercorn: 6

Cloves: 3

Black Cardamom: 1

Red Chili (whole): 3

Cinnamon Stick: 1"

Poppy seeds: 1tsp

 

 



 

 

 

Directions:

 

1. In a small frying pan, dry roast cinnamon stick, peppercorn, cloves, black cardamom, cumin seeds, whole red chilies and poppy seeds. Grind to fine powder. Keep aside.

2. In a food processor, process the mincemeat with one onion, 1.5Tbsp cilantro leaves, bread slices, roasted spices from step 1 & green chilies. Process till fine.

3. Make meat balls and set out in a dish.

4. Slice 1 onion, and fry in a pan till golden brown. Remove with slotted spoon and lay out on platter.

5. To the same pan, add 0.5tsp garlic paste and blended tomato. Stir and fry for a few minutes. Add in ginger paste, turmeric powder, cayenne, coriander powder & salt. Add in 0.25cup of water to ensure spices don't burn.

6. Whip 0.25cup yogurt and add to cooking spices. When water dries and oil surfaces, add in meatballs.

7. Don't touch the meatballs to avoid breakage. Cook on low heat. Shake pan to turn meatballs.

8. Blend fried onions with remaining yogurt and add to meat. Add in 0.5cup of water.

9. Sprinkle in remaining cilantro & green chilies.

10. Serve with rice, chapatti, naan, paratha or side choice. Whatever gets your taste buds flowing. 

 

Dum Qeema ~BBQ Mincemeat



I marinate and freeze fresh mincemeat, which shortens the cooking time when preparing this dish, as well infusing the marinade well into the meat. Dum Qeema can be enjoyed on its own, with any choice of bread or rice. You can make it as spicy or not as per your taste buds.

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

Mincemeat (chicken, beef, mutton): 0.5kg

Onions: 3 medium; sliced

Yogurt: 0.5 cup

Garlic Paste: 1tsp

Ginger Paste: 1.5tsp

Coriander Powder: 1.5Tbsp

Cumin Powder: 1tsp

Cloves: 3

Peppercorn: 6

Cinnamon Stick: 1"

Black Cardamom: 1

Star Anise: 1

Gram Flour: 2Tbsp

Oil: 3Tbsp

Salt: to taste

Green Chilies: 2; finely chopped

Cilantro Leaves: 2Tbsp

Lemon Juice: 1Tbsp 

Butter: 1Tbsp

Coal: 1

Directions:

1. Grind cloves, peppercorn, black cardamom, cinnamon stick to a fine powder.
2. Marinate mince with yogurt, garlic & ginger paste, coriander & cumin powder, ground spices (from step 1), cayenne pepper, cilantro leaves, chopped green chilies & lemon juice. Marinate for at least 2 hours.
3. Fry the onions till golden brown on medium-low heat. Remove with a slotted spoon and spread on kitchen towel.
4. In same oil, fry the gram flour till it turns light golden brown.
5. In another pan, add in marinated meat, salt and cook on low heat. Add in fried gram flour. Stir to combine.
6. Crush fried onions & add to mince. Cook on low heat.
7. Heat coal till it's red. Layer the cooking mince with foil, put the hot coal on the foil and butter on the coal to smoke the meat. Cover tightly for the smoke to infuse properly.
8. Once the smoke settles, remove coal & foil, and discard.

Haleem

Haleem, eaten with naan bread or on its own, is a meat & lentil dish, cooked on low heat for 2 hours. When prepared in bulk, haleem is cooked overnight perfectly infusing the lentils and meat together for a deliciously soothing dish. Parin introduced me to her easy to make, flavor infested version, at her place in Muscat many years ago, when she was hosting one of her lavish dinners. I usually cook haleem during the winter months, or when I'm entertaining or when it's a haleem kind of mood. I have modified Parin's recipe, by adding small of portions of barley & whole wheat. My choice of meat is mutton, but chicken or beef can also be used. 

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:

Meat (beef, chicken, mutton): 1kg
Whole wheat: 1cup
Mixed lentils (pink lentil, gram lentil, skinless green gram): 0.5cup
Barley: 0.25cup
Onions: 2 medium; sliced
Garlic Paste: 2tsp
Ginger Paste: 2tsp
Turmeric: 1tsp
Peppercorn: 4-5
Cloves: 2-3
Black Cardamom: 2
Cinnamon Stick: 2"
Tomato: 1 large
Coriander Powder: 2Tbsp
Cayenne Pepper: 0.5tsp
Salt: to taste
Cilantro Leaves: 3-4Tbsp
Green Chilies: 6
Oil: 4Tbsp

Accompaniments:
Fried Onions: 4Tbsp
Cilantro Leaves: 3-4Tbsp
Green Chillies: 5-6; sliced
Lemon: 6; quartered

Directions:



1. Clean & soak wheat & barley overnight or 4 hours.

2. Clean & soak lentils for 2 hours.

3. Boil on medium-low heat the cleaned meat with garlic, ginger & 3 cups of water till meat is tender. Save some broth.

4. In a separate pan, boil on medium-low heat lentils with 2 cups of water, 0.5tsp turmeric & 0.25tsp ginger paste till tender.  

5. In another pan, boil on medium-low heat wheat & barley with 1Tbsp oil & 3 cups of water till tender.

6. Heat oil in a deep pan, add in peppercorns, cloves, black cardamom, cinnamon, sliced onion & fry till golden brown.

7. Blend tomato, cilantro leaves & half of the green chilies to a fine paste. To this blended mixture, add coriander powder, remaining turmeric, cayenne pepper & salt. Add this to the fried onions.

8. Keep frying onion & tomato mixture; sprinkle water to stop mixture from burning.

9. Add in the boiled meat to the onion & tomato mix and fry. If required, sprinkle water to stop from burning (also, reduce flame).

10. Mash the cooked lentils and add to meat.

11. Blend cooked wheat & barley to a fine paste and add to meat mixture.

12. Add in the saved meat broth & add in 2 cups of water. Allow to cook for a minimum of 2 hours.





Nihari

Nihari is native to Delhi, India; popular in Punjab and mostly enjoyed during the cooler months of the year. The dish is typically cooked all night on slow heat in a large cooking pot. It's enjoyed with naan bread, freshly chopped ginger, green chilies & lemon juice.
I was given this recipe by my mother's friend, Khanam Aunty. At the time, I had started cooking so Khanam Aunty gave me a simplified version of this otherwise rather complex dish. I first served it in Abu Dhabi to my husband, before making it part of entertainment menu. Nihari is a favorite family meal; my daughters love combining it with rice; my son & husband prefer it with naan; my daughter in law saves a portion to enjoy for breakfast.
Generally, Nihari is shin meat of goat or cow, but chicken & mutton can also be used.

Serves: 5-6

Ingredients:

Meat (chicken/mutton/beef): 1kg
Oil: 3Tbsp
Onion: 1; medium; blend into paste
Garlic Paste: 1tsp
Ginger Paste: 1tsp
Turmeric: 1tsp
Cayenne Pepper: 2tsp
Flour: 4Tbsp
Carom Seeds: 0.5tsp
Cumin Seeds: 2tsp
Aniseeds: 2tsp
Bay Leaves: 3
Ginger: 1Tbsp; coarsely chopped
Black Cardamoms: 5
Cloves: 6
Peppercorn: 10
Cinnamon Sticks: 3
Salt: to taste

Served as condiment:

Fresh Cilantro: 2Tbsp; finely chopped (for garnish & serve on side)
Green Chilies: 5-6; chopped
Lemon: 3-4; cut into wedges
Onion: 1; small; chopped & fried golden


Directions:

1. Heat oil in a pan. When oil is hot, remove from fire & add in turmeric, cayenne pepper & meat. Cover & put back on medium-low flame. Cook for 10 minutes.
2. Add in onion, garlic & ginger paste. Stir to combine. Fry for 5-10 minutes on medium-low flame.
3. Lower flame & 4-5 cups of water. Allow to cook.
4. In a frying pan, dry roast 1tsp aniseeds, 0.5tsp carom, 1tsp cumin seeds, 10 peppercorns, 6 cloves, 2 black cardamoms & 1 cinnamon stick. Grind to a fine powder.
5. In same frying pan, roast the flour to a light brown color.
6. When meat curry is boiling, sift in the flour. Stir well on low flame.
7. In a muslin cloth, add the chopped ginger, remaining cardamoms, cinnamon sticks, aniseeds, cumin, bay leaves & salt. Tie the cloth & put in meat curry.
8. When meat is tender, add in dry roasted, ground spices (from step 4). Stir & remove from fire.
9. Garnish with cilantro, chilies & fried onions.

Meat Curry

Preparing the meat for curry.


Ingredients:

Meat lamb, beef, or mutton: 1/2kg
Garlic paste: 1/2 tsp
Ginger paste: 1/2 tsp
Turmeric: 1/8 tsp
Salt to taste (do keep in mind the basic curry sauce has salt)


Direction:

1. Add all the ingredients in a bowl and marinate for 1/2 hour minimum can be been kept refrigerated over night.
2. Heat oil in a pan add in the marinated meat with the marinate. 
3. Stir fry on medium low heat. Sprinkle water into meat and keep frying.
4. Add the meat to the prepared Basic Curry Sauce, add 2 cups of warm water.
5. Cover and cook on gentle to low heat till meat is tender and a little sauce remains. If more sauce or (curry is required more water maybe added).
6. If desired chopped cilantro maybe added before serving.