Ingredients

• 450 gm. lean mince lamb or mutton or beef . Many people use a 60-40 mix of lamb and beef or lamb and chicken mince.

• 1 large onion

• 1/2 inch piece of ginger

• 4 cloves of garlic

• 2-3 green chillies (according to tastes)

• 6 mint leaves

• A small bunch of fresh coriander

• 1 egg

• 2 slices of fresh bread crumbs or 2 tbsp. besan (chick pea flour)

• A few strands of saffron or kesar, soaked in 1 tbsp. of warm milk

• Salt to taste

• 1/4 tsp. chilli powder to taste

• 1 tbsp. ghee or olive oil for oiling hands (step 8). You can use just water.

• Whole spices:

• 1 tsp. cumin seeds*

• 2 cloves*

• 4 green cardamom pods or illaichi* (small ones)

• 1/2 blade of mace or javitri*

• 1/2 inch piece cinnamon stick or dal-chini*

• A Kebab rod, usually made of iron. You can use the thick end of a chopstick instead.

Instructions

1. Roast all whole spices together in a hot pan for a few seconds, cool & grind in a coffee grinder. Keep aside. If in a hurry, use 2 level tsp. garam masala (see recipe) in place of all the whole spices marked*.

2. Peel, wash and roughly chop onions, ginger and garlic.

3. Clean and wash mint and coriander leaves.

4. Put onion, garlic, ginger, mint, coriander leaves, green chillies and spices in a food processor and grind coarsely. Do not puree.

5. Place meat in a large bowl, add egg, bread crumbs, spice & onion mix from the food processor.

6. Add saffron, salt and chilli powder. Mix, cover with a cling film* or put in an airtight container and leave in the fridge, for a minimum of 4-6 hours. Overnight is better for flavours to infuse into the meat.

7. Take a full tablespoon of the mix in your palm and shape it with dampened or oiled hands into a ball first. Then make it into a kebab/sausage shape on an oiled kebab rod/skewer/pencil (not a lead pencil). Length of each kebab is your choice. If you want to make them longer like the restaurant ones, take more mince mix for each kebab.

8. Gently slide off each kebab and place on a baking tray lined with aluminium foil (if you have enough skewers, you can leave them on the skewers, until after they are cooked). Bamboo skewers can also be used but try to find the thick ones. Soak bamboo skewers in water for 30 minutes before using, it will stop them from burning.

9. I often make them in bulk, to freeze. For this, select a tray that fits your freezer. Line it with foil. Place kebabs on this and then leave the tray in your freezer overnight. Pick frozen kebabs and put them in a freezer bag or container and return to the freezer. Defrost required number of kebabs before cooking.

10. Cooking : a. Cook the kebabs under a grill, turning over once or twice, until nicely browned on all sides. b. Cook in a very hot oven (230C), for 15-20 minutes, until browned on all sides but not overcook. This will toughen the meat. c. They can also be cooked on a barbecue d. or in a frying pan.

11. For a party, when you need to cook a large number, keep them ready on an oven tray, before the guests arrive. Cook in a preheated oven at around 200C/400F/Gas mark 6, for 20-30 minutes.

12. Serve hot, with Green Mango Chutney or Garlic and Mint Chutney.

13. Sheek kebabs can be served wrapped in tortillas or Chapatties, along with shredded salads.

Notes

• * I collect plastic shower caps from hotel rooms, they make excellent bowl covers.

• Thick skewer results in a larger hole inside each kebab, resulting in even cooking from inside.

• Kebabs look very nice when served on a bed of finely shredded crisp lettuce, with thinly sliced red onion rings and wedges of lemon as garnish.

• They can be made in bulk in advance and frozen uncooked. To do this, spread out kebabs on baking tray lined with wax paper or foil and freeze. Once frozen, keep them in a plastic bag or container. This will keep them separate. When you need them, just take a few out and cook from frozen.