The Afghan shami kebab is a long, soft kebab of lamb and potato. The mince is fried with onion, garlic, chilli and coriander, cooled and blended smooth, then bound with mashed potato, egg and gram flour, so it holds its shape over the coals and stays tender inside a crisp, caramelised crust. It is eaten wrapped in bread with a sharp salad of tomato, cucumber and red onion dressed with lime, lemon and sumac, and a bowl of garlic yoghurt with dried mint. Older Afghan versions, also called lola kebab, fold yellow split peas into the meat and deep-fry the kebabs, which are served warm or cold. This version has picked up a couple of British touches along the way, rosemary in the mince and breadcrumbs in the binding.
Zone: Silk Road Table
INGREDIENTS
- 250 g Maris Piper potatoes (peeled, in 2cm cubes)
- 1 white onion (roughly chopped)
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil (divided)
- 500 g lamb mince (about 10% fat)
- 5½ garlic cloves (crushed, divided)
- 1 tsp chilli flakes
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp finely chopped rosemary (a British addition)
- 25 g fresh coriander (stalks and leaves roughly chopped, plus sprigs to serve)
- 2½ tsp salt (divided)
- 2½ tsp freshly ground black pepper (divided)
- 2 medium eggs
- 45 g white breadcrumbs (a British addition)
- 120 g gram flour
- 1 red onion (finely diced)
- juice of 1 lime
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 cucumber (roughly chopped)
- 4 tomatoes (deseeded and chopped)
- pinch of sea salt
- generous pinch of sumac
- generous pinch of dried mint
- 500 g natural yoghurt
- toasted pittas or naan (to serve)
METHOD
- Boil the potatoes for about 20 minutes until soft. Drain, let them steam dry, then mash.
- Fry the white onion in 1 tbsp oil over a high heat for about 5 minutes. Add the lamb and brown it briefly, then stir in 5 of the garlic cloves, the chilli flakes, paprika, rosemary, coriander, 2 tsp salt and 2 tsp pepper. Leave to cool.
- Blend the cooled mince mixture in a food processor to a smooth paste.
- Mix the eggs, breadcrumbs and gram flour with the remaining ½ tsp each of salt and pepper. Add the mince paste and mashed potato and combine well.
- Shape into 8 to 10 long sausage shapes and chill until firm.
- For the salad, mix the red onion, lime and lemon juice, cucumber, tomatoes, sea salt and sumac.
- Stir the dried mint and the remaining half garlic clove into the yoghurt and season.
- Heat a cast-iron pan with the remaining 2 tbsp oil over hot coals, or oil the kebabs and the grill bars. Cook the kebabs for 5 to 7 minutes, turning often, until caramelised all over.
- Serve with the salad, the yoghurt and warm bread, scattered with coriander sprigs.
NOTES
UK adaptation: Lamb mince, about 10 percent fat, from any butcher or supermarket. Gram flour and sumac from the world-food aisle or any South Asian or Middle Eastern grocer. Maris Piper potatoes. Cook in a cast-iron pan set over the coals, or straight on oiled grill bars. Serve with naan-e-afghani or toasted pittas. Everything else widely available.
US adaptation: Ground lamb. Besan (gram flour) from Patel Brothers. Sumac from Middle Eastern grocers or most supermarkets. Russet potatoes. Everything else widely available.
Cook’s note: Chill the shaped kebabs before they go near the heat. Straight after mixing they are too soft, and they slump through the bars.
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