Expanding My Repertoire

There are a few things in life that remind you of good times i.e. childhood. For me one such reminder is Lebanese food. We grew up eating Shawarma, Toum, Houmous, Khubz, Arais-el-kafta etc. I reminisce about life in the Middle East whenever I get to taste this amazingly aromatic and delicious cuisine. Such mild yet luxurious flavour. I think about my dad and his obsession with Arais-el-kafta. His expert replication of all the different types of food he used to love.

I thought I'd share with you my take on Lebanese cuisine tonight. I tried my hand at their Lamb kafta. For a long time I've been trying to make it perfect. Mellow yet flavourful. I went to my butcher's early morning after a night shift. I got the freshest meat ever. He advised me to get minced lamb shoulder and not leg if I want to make kababs. His point was that shoulder meat has more fat in it and it keeps the kababs moist. He was spot-on!

LEBANESE LAMB KAFTA

INGREDIENTS

Minced lamb shoulder meat- 500gm
Salt- to taste
Coriander powder (Pisa dhanya)- 1 tsp
Cumin powder (Pisa zeera)- 1 tsp
Garlic- 4 cloves
Onion- 2: Slice one onion and fry it till golden, leave the other one raw
Cinnamon powder (Pisi daarcheeni)- 1/4 tsp
Garam masala- 1/2 tsp
Flat leaf parsley- 1 tbsp
Olive oil- to shallow fry

Put all the seasonings, garlic, onions, parsley and minced meat in a grinder and grind together.

Now make small portions of the mixture, thread onto a wooden skewer (soak the skewers in cold water for a few hours to prevent burning) and shape them around the skewer. Wet your palm slightly so the surface of the kafta is nice and smooth.

Shallow fry in olive oil on medium flame to keep these kaftas moist.










Serve with houmous, toum, cucumber yoghurt, minty salad and warm Pita bread. I was too tired therefore served it over rice. What works for me is that Zaf loves rice. You can make pita pockets out of these as well. I loved these and after several attempts, I finally got the ratio right. Would love to know what you think. Happy cooking to you!