KEBABS GALORE
The kebab has sadly become synonymous with something you pick up after stumbling out of a drinking hole in the early hours. That’s not the sort of kebab I’m referring to though. I’m talking about a delicacy, lovingly prepared and often regarded as the crowning glory of a Pakistani meal. Kebabs also make a great addition to the full Pakistani breakfast. Alas, I discovered to my dismay in a recently conducted, somewhat impromptu Twitter survey, that a lot of (English) folk have never actually eaten a proper Pakistani kebab!
I imagine the word ‘Pakistani’ added to the confusion here, which is why I feel I should explain that most ‘Indian’ restaurants in Bradford at least, aren’t actually Indian at all. They’re predominantly Pakistani or Kashmiri (Mirpuri) owned. You might not notice the kebabs anyway since they’re usually listed among the starters, especially if you prefer to concentrate your efforts on the curries on the menu instead. Ironically, in Pakistani households, we don’t really bother with starters, so I presume restaurants do the whole ‘starter’ malarkey purely to indulge the English customer! You see, we Pakistanis prefer everything – everything except the dessert, that is – to be brought out simultaneously when we sit down to eat.
Personally, I think of the things listed in the starter menu as ‘chat patta’ savouries – finger licking food that you’d eat with an assortment of chutneys; a bit like street food, which serves a different purpose altogether. It’s more about tickling your taste buds than about a hearty meal. And it’s usually food that’s a bit fiddly to prepare and feels a little bit special. I’m thinking not only of kebabs (which are usually made with ground or minced meat), but also samosas and bhajis. If I’m eating out, I’ll happily forego the main course in favour of a few of these, my favourite being the mixed grill where kebabs are featured in full force along with a variety of tikkas (marinated and grilled chunks of meat or fish). After all, I could have a curry every night at home if I wanted!
Kebabs come in different shapes and sizes, and a Pakistani dinner party is never complete without them. We’re going to leave out the doner on the vertical rotating spit because that’s a Middle Eastern creation, although I have eaten them in Pakistan where they’re referred to as shawarma. Seekh kebabs are the ones you see most often in ‘Indian’ restaurants, named after the long metal skewers used to wrap the minced lamb around before being grilled. I like the ones on the Aagrah buffet!
We usually eat shami (literally Syrian) kebabs – shallow fried patties made with boiled lamb, minced with cooked ground lentils – on special occasions like Eid, probably because they’re so labour intensive. Then there’s the chapli kebabs which are made with deep fried lamb, mutton or beef, and especially popular with people from Pakistan’s Frontier Province because those folk are mega meat eaters. Chapli kebabs are named after a shoe because the perfect chapli kebab should be as thin and flat as the sole of the chapli, as the flip flop is known in Pakistan. You’ll find the best chapli kebabs (eaten with naan, chutney and salad) in Bradford at Abaseen in Willow Street, Girlington, but do be warned! These are strictly a twice-a-year treat, which should be washed down with strong tea to degrease your arteries!
Kebabs are traditionally a meat fest. It’s actually quite difficult to be a vegetarian in Pakistan where daal (lentil curry) is often regarded as food for paupers, and not for guests! Thankfully ‘Indian’ restaurants these days have to offer decent vegetarian options – such as potato kebabs or paneer tikkas – to cater for the western palette. But this is also why menus have become somewhat convoluted. Strictly speaking, onion bhajis, pakoras and samosas shouldn’t be on the menu as starters at all because they’d never feature in a traditional Pakistani meal. They’re standalone snacks, you see, so ordering a samosa in a restaurant is a bit like ordering a scone as a starter!
ROTI OR NAAN
While we’re on etiquette, may I also point out that Pakistanis would usually accompany their curry and kebabs with rotis rather than rice. Roti is an absolute staple with our main meals, prepared on a tawa (heavy based chapatti pan) which is a prerequisite in any Pakistani kitchen. These are readily and cheaply available from supermarkets like Pakeezah or Haqs, and are also great for reheating kebabs and leftover rotis (with a dash of butter or olive oil).
I think of naans as an upper crust version of the humble roti: they’re made with a yeast based dough and baked in tandoors which most of us don’t have in our kitchens; and they’re made with refined white flour while we use a medium wholegrain flour for our rotis, making them a little healthier. These days though, even self-respecting women like my mum are happy to shun the thankless task of roti rolling by ordering from the likes of Dial-a-Roti or Bismillah Roti House in Heaton or Ikhlaq’s in Frizinghall. And may I recommend the Kurdish Judi Bakery in Lumb Lane for the fluffiest naan ever – 4 for £1. And parathas? I like to think of these as our equivalent of croissants, given the amount of butter that goes into making them flaky. Parathas would usually be eaten for breakfast, probably with a fried egg, a shami kebab or leftover curry from the night before.
MY MUM’S CHICKEN KEBAB RECIPE
I just couldn’t write a blog about kebabs without including my mum’s chicken kebab recipe, probably the simplest and healthiest kebabs you’ll ever eat. Mum’s been making these since I was a teenager living on the Canterbury Estate in Bradford. They were born out of necessity because mum was a single parent working full time. So she’d dash home after work with a pound of chicken mince from the halal butcher’s, and within fifteen minutes, the aroma of the kebabs would draw us out of our bedrooms!
Mum’s always been health conscious so she’d routinely use minimal oil in curries, shun the fine white flour which produced fluffy rotis in favour of wholemeal flour with added husk. She also favoured chicken over red meat. Mum didn’t have time to dry roast the coriander seeds before grinding them. In fact, she didn’t even have time to roll and flatten the kebab mix into individual patties for shallow frying, nursing them on the cooker a few at a time. Once everything was mixed together, mum would instead empty the lot into a shallow baking tray, flatten everything down with a wet hand and bung the lot in a hot oven. Once cooked, we’d cut the layer of kebab into large squares and eat them with freshly made rotis and spicy chutney. They were really versatile too; the leftovers made great sandwiches!
Now that we’re older and mum’s retired, she makes the chicken kebabs with a lot more attention, although they’re just as fiery and succulent as they ever were. Mum never measures anything out with a spoon; she thinks in pinches and handfuls! But a few years ago, I shadowed her just so I could get a clearer sense of the measurements, and I’ve been making these ever since.
1 kg chicken mince (preferably thigh mince as breast mince alone will make the kebabs too dry)
3 tablespoons cornflour
1 egg
1 inch piece of fresh ginger
10 green chillies (mum uses 13 long chillies!!)
1 large white onion
Leaves from large bunch of fresh coriander, roughly chopped
1.5 tablespoons anardana (pomegranate seeds), coarsely ground in pestle & mortar or electric grinder
1 tablespoon coriander seeds, dry roasted in heavy based pan, then coarsely ground in pestle & mortar
1 level teaspoon red chilli powder
1 level tablespoon salt
Remove tops from chillies and peel the ginger. Finely chop both together in food processor. Add the onion to the food processor AFTER crushing ginger and chillies. Be careful not to chop the onions too finely because this will make the kebab mix too watery. Mix together all the ingredients in a large bowl.
Have a bowl of cold water to hand for dipping your hands in (otherwise they’ll get coated in kebab mince). Wet your hands, pick up a portion of the mince chicken mix, shape into THIN patties (burger shapes) and place on baking sheet. I usually get between 18-22 kebabs and I prefer to line the baking sheet with tin foil to avoid scrubbing later! Bake in medium oven for 25-30 mins.
If you’re worried about the chilli content, you could add less and bake just one kebab to test the heat, and revise the spice accordingly. Enjoy!
Irna Qureshi blogs about being British, Pakistani, Muslim and female in Bradford, against a backdrop of classic Indian films.
If you liked this blog, you may also enjoy my Top Ten Things to do in Bradford blog.
My tip: let people eat what they want to eat, when they want to eat it. Especially those of us who don’t eat a lot of meat or care for etiquette. One of the best things about food in Britain is that we are a mongrel nation. Leave “authenticity” behind, and eat what you like when you like. If we can manage cereal at 11pm and cold pizza for breakfast, we can have a pakora with satay sauce for a starter if we want one, or have a paratha with beans and cheese for lunch.
Thanks
Thoroughly enjoyed this (again) and will be treating the Mrs to kebabs very soon.