Asma Khan's Jali Kabab (Lamb Kabab)
Jali means "web" or "mesh" in Bengali and describes the distinctive design on top of the meat patty created by the egg wash, which resembled the threadlike web pattern of a jali. Great to make for entertaining, jali kabab is also suitable for gatherings with children or adults with low chile tolerance, as you can halve the chile here without compromising much on flavour.
Ingredients
For the Roasted Kabab Masala:
Method
- Roast the kabab masala spices in a dry pan until they lose their raw flavour. Transfer to a spice grinder and blitz to a fine powder (discard any large pieces of mace or cassia bark). Making freshly roasted and ground kabab spice for this dish will make a difference to the taste. You can, if required, substitute the masala with 1 teaspoon of garam masala.
- In a large bowl, mix the lamb with the tomato ketchup, soy sauce, chili powder, garlic, ginger, salt, pepper, kabab masala, and breadcrumbs.
- Break three of the eggs into a separate bowl and whisk, then add the eggs to the meat mixture and mix well. If the mixture is not binding, you can soak the extra bread in water, squeeze well, then crumble and mix it in thoroughly. You should only add one slice of bread at a time, as that might be enough. The moisture in store-bought ground meat to that made fresh by a butcher or at home can vary a lot, which is why the additional bread may be required to bind the kabab together. The mixture should feel like a mix for a burger. Divide the mixture into 12 portions and flatten into patties. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- Whisk the three remaining eggs. Remove the kababs from the fridge. Warm a deep, heavy-based frying pan over a medium-high heat, before adding a 1-in (4-cm) depth of vegetable oil. When it reaches a medium- high heat (one way to test this is to drop in a small cube of bread-it should brown in 30 seconds), dip a kabab into the beaten eggs and slide into the oil. Ideally, you should fry no more than 2-3 kababs at a time. Adding too many will drop the temperature of the oil and cause the kabab to disintegrate during cooking.
- Wait for each kabab to brown and cook on one side before turning them over. With a pastry brush dipped in the beaten egg, drizzle a threadlike zigzag pattern on each kabab. Cook on both sides until each kabab is dark brown and cooked all the way through. Reduce the heat under the pan if the kababs brown too quickly-the insides must cook too. Remove with a slotted spoon to rest on paper towels.
- Serve warm.
Rate this recipe
Overall Rating:
4.00
()
