seekh kebab – spicy lamb skewers

Seekh kebab are delicious, spicy lamb skewers loaded with big Indian flavours and grilled over open flame. Serve them up with a bit of mint coriander yogurt dipping sauce and you have an appetizer that can eat like a meal.

If that sounds good to you, you need to make these. Soon.

Who doesn’t like meat on a stick? It’s everywhere. Japan has yakitori. The Turks have shish kebab. South east Asia has satay. And India has seekh kebab.

I don’t know the origin of seekh kebab. But I would guess it’s that Persian influence you see in so much Northern Indian cooking. From Turkey to the rest of the Middle East. Through Pakistan and then India. Makes sense. To me anyway.

I do know I like it though. A lot. But I am a big fan of meat on a stick. On a small scale like this. And on a big scale.  Like spit roasted chickens. Something about meat basting itself over fire just does it for me.

Seekh kebab are like a twist on middle eastern kofta

I think seekh kebab are an Indian variant on kofta. At least how I was taught to make kofta. Lots of chopped parsley, onion, garlic and lamb. Some salt and pepper.

Rolled around a skewer and grilled. Served with a bit of lemon and a yoghurt based dipping sauce. A simpler version maybe. But very similar. I love how cooking evolves across borders. And through time.

Don’t skimp on the seasonings

There are a lot of flavours going on in these seekh kebab. The backbones are garlic, ginger and shallot. Garlic ginger paste and finely chopped shallots to be specific. Really finely chopped shallot. You want it to disappear into the meat when it’s cooked.

Spices make up the next layer of flavour. There’s a full tablespoon of spice in a pound of lamb. And you could probably push that up a bit if you really wanted to.

Simple spices here. No trip to the Indian grocer required. Cumin, coriander and chili powder. Not so hard to find. Except maybe the Kashmiri chili powder. But you need to own some of that anyway. It’s big flavour without tons of heat. So you can add lots.

Bright flavours next. Green chili and cilantro. A burst of fresh and a little bit hot. It’s a nice touch. And it’s in balance. So don’t leave it out.

It may seem like a lot of ingredients. But in Indian cooking layering flavours is everything. And it’s not that much work really. Toss some stuff in a bowl. Mush it up with your hands. Good to go.

Grilling technique really matters with seekh kebab

I say grilling technique is important a lot. And I truly believe it. With seekh kebab it is really important. These are little bits of ground lamb wrapped around a stick. Disaster waiting to happen. Pretty much guaranteed.

Slap these on the grill and hope. That will not work. Don’t even try. These things are delicate. So they need to be babied a bit.

Medium fire. That’s important. If they do stick a bit you don’t want them burning before they release. They cook fast anyway. No need to sear them.

A fine grate helps. Look at the picture. See the grate I’m using? That helps a lot. You can get them for next to nothing at Asian groceries and kitchen supply stores. And they are super handy to have. For all kinds of delicate grilling.

Oil your grate. No matter what grate you use do yourself a favour and coat it with a bit of oil before you start. That will make a big difference.

Use tongs and a spatula. You don’t have time to go running back to the kitchen to get tools. It goes fast. So have them both on hand. Tongs work if the meat releases. Spatulas help if it doesn’t.

Once the seekh kebab are semi-cooked the skewers work. Until then best to have as much helpful gear on hand as possible.

Have an instant read thermometer handy as well. You don’t want to serve undercooked ground lamb. But you don’t want to over cook it either. A thermometer makes nailing it easy. No guessing. Better cooking through science.

Mint coriander chutney dip

If there was ever a dish that goes well with a blend of mint coriander chutney and yoghurt seekh kebab is it. It just works. As a dip. Or as a sauce if you want to make seekh kebab wraps.

You can buy mint coriander chutney and just mix it with yoghurt. That works. Just mix it up roughly two parts chutney to one part plain yoghurt.

Or you can go the distance and make it yourself. Maybe not every time. But you should really try to make mint coriander chutney at least once in your life. It is so much better than the stuff you can buy. Unbelievable really.

Lamb seekh kebab Indian style. Really tasty stuff. Try it sometime when you are hosting an Indian dinner party. Makes the kind of appetizer that just gets devoured.

Or mix it up a bit and make a wrap. I love seekh kebab wraps. A fresh chapati. Some lettuce. Maybe a bit of green onion. Lamb kebab. And a good drizzle of mint coriander dipping sauce. Just good living.