Shout out to my pops: Kebabs

I grew up eating all sorts of kebabs; lamb, chicken, beef maybe even some goat thrown in there too. All kebabs are all born out of the fact that there was very little cooking fuel available in the Middle East during ancient times. This made it difficult to cook large animals or heat large cooking vessels. Most people are familiar with shish kebabs which are chunks of meat and vegetables cooked on a skewer. I, however, grew up mostly eating seekh kebabs which are spiced ground meat kebabs. They are native to Pakistan, where my father is from. For my kebab recipe you can use ground lamb, beef or turkey. The lamb is the most traditional and delicious and you lose that hearty meat flavor as you go down the line.

1 lb. ground lamb, beef or turkey
1 tbsp. garlic paste (or finely minced)
1 tbsp. ginger paste (or finely minced)
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
2 tsp. garam masala (if you don’t have it use curry powder or a mixture of cumin and turmeric)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp chili powder or cayenne pepper

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and combine well. Now you have many cooking options. The most traditional way would be to form long sausage shaped kebabs around skewers and then line them up above a roasting pan so the meat isn’t touching the pan. Set your broiler to low and place the kebabs in the oven. Rotate them every few minutes to they brown and cook through. Cook no more then 15 minutes in total. If it is warm outside you could go through the same skewering process and throw them on the grill. Another good option is to turn them into hamburgers as they are certainly an interesting twist to an old favorite. However you decide to cook them I suggest you make a tiny test patty and cook it on the stove top to check the seasoning. You don’t want to cook the entire batch and realize you didn't put enough salt or garlic in. I stick with the traditional and broil them. You can serve them with pita and salad, or with couscous or rice.