Kabobs

What is a kabob? In North American when we hear about Shish Kabob we think of meat on a skewer or veggies and meat mixed on skewer, grilled on BBQ. Nothing wrong with that.

But what the SU's family calls a Kabob is very different from what I called a Kabob. His version (and his families) may or may not be indicative of other regions of the middle east but what I'm giving you today is the version we make.

So what does the SU's family call a Kabob - well basically it's a grilled meat ball. We've been to Arabian restaurants and street fairs (they have an Arabian street fair in Toronto each year in the Arabian neighbourhood). How they would make them there is to take the meat and form the ball around a skewer and cook them on a grill, the meat in this form is thin, and form a long tube around the skewer - so in that respect they are like the Shish Kabob that some of us may have grown up with.

At home, we live in a condo so we don't have a grill (no balcony and our building does not provide or allow for BBQ on site). So we have a cast iron grilling pan and we make them in that. We don't bother with the skewer but just form the balls and grill them that way.

If you wanted to use skewers be sure to soak them in water before using them so that they will not burn on your grill.

Also we use a spice blend to make the kabobs that we purchase at the Arabian market, it's called, funnily enough, Kabob spice. If you can find that use that with salt and pepper to taste. If not the recipe below is how the SU and I will make it without the Kabob spice blend.


Kabobs:
1/2 pound of lean ground beef
1 egg
1/2 cup bread crumbs (more or less depending on how dry you like them)
1 tbsp cumin
1tbsp Garam marasala
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp Dill seed
1 tsp Anise Seed (optional)
1-2 tbsp of Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, best to use your hands (use rubber gloves if you don't like the idea of touching the raw meat with your hands).

Form the whole in a ball and cover the bowl, set in the refrigerator to chill and to allow the spices to blend - how long is up to you, minimum of 1 hour though.

Remove the meat from the refrigerator and allow to stand for 10-15 minutes, then either using 2 spoons or just your hands form the meat in to 12 kabobs (roughly egg shaped and roughly triangular on the sides).

While forming the balls, set the grilling pan on the stove top with the heat set to medium and allow the pan to heat. Add a splash of cooking oil or vegetable spray the pan to prevent the meat from sticking.

When the pan is hot, place the kabobs on the pan and allow them to cook on all sides (about 5-7 minutes per side).

When the meat is thoroughly cooked remove from the heat and set aside to rest a few minutes before serving.

Serve with grilled veggies and yogurt/cucumber salad.

To make the yogurt salad:

1 1/2 cup of plain yogurt (fat free if you want to save calories)
1/4 of an English cucumber, chopped fairly fine
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1-2 tbsp of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped and pasted (or use 1 tsp of garlic powder if you are afraid of getting a chunk of raw garlic)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix the all ingredients in a small bowl until well blended, set on the table and use as either a dip or a sauce to pour over the kabobs.