Kakori Kebab

Story: I love Kakori!! I have never even been there but I love it! I can't think of any other city in India that has its name linked to famous freedom fighters and super-delicious kebabs!

Until I tried this recipe from SK guruji the only thing I knew about the place was the famous Kakori train robbery brilliantly planned by Ram Prasad Bismil and Ashfaqullah Khan in 1925 as a part of the indian independence movement. No - I am not into history at all.. the credit goes to Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra for writing and directing the brilliant movie "Rang de basanti".

Here's how the second encounter happened - one day I was craving for yummy seekh kebabs.. Naturally I went to guruji's website to see if he has the recipe. I bumped into this recipe and the rest is - history! :)

So here's to Sanjeev Kapoor (SK guruji) and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra!

Source: Kebab recipe - Sanjeev Kapoor and Wrap inspiration - Shawarma King restaurant in Boston
Time: 1 hour
Ingredients: For 20-25 1-inch kebabs

• 1/2 pound ground lamb
  
• 1 tbsp ginger paste
• 1 tbsp garlic paste
• 3 tbsp Cashew nuts
  
• 1 tbsp poppy seeds
• 1 tbsp garam masala
• 1 tbsp red chili powder - the original recipe calls for a yellow chili powder - I don't know what that is..
• salt to taste
• 1.5 tbsp ghee
  

Recipe:

Here's a link to the original recipe and here's how I made it: in a small cup grind ginger, garlic, soaked cashew nuts, poppy seeds, garam masala, salt, red chili powder. Add this mixture to the minced lamb and mix well. Now add ghee and mix well.

Make long slender cylinders out of the minced lamb and put skewers through them. Bake in the oven at 400 F for 20-30 minutes till the kebabs look darkish brown.



If you want to turn these yummy starters into a whole meal, get a Pita bread, thinly sliced lettuce, finely cut cucumbers and two delicious dips: Tahini (blend 3 tbsp of lightly toasted sesame seeds, 1 tbsp lemon juice, salt, 2 cloves of garlic, 3 tbsp water) and Hummus (I added extra red chili powder to hummus)

Spread the dips on the pita bread, add lettuce, cucumber and Kakori kebabs and make a kebab wrap.