This Eid, dig into Kutchi shami kebab

Kutchi Muslims love food and lavish this love on their guests. It’s said that Gujarat’s Kutchi Memons are large-hearted and this trait is reflected even in the vessels they cook in. They are large, big enough to cook for a whole lot of people. Kutchi food has the unmistakable stamp of Arabian flavour.

Since the Kutchis share a common border with Pakistan, the whiff of Pak cuisine too wafts across. That too has had its effect on the choice of spices and ingredients in Kutchi kitchens. Large mats are spread out on the floor and folks sit around to enjoy their splendid food flavoured with cheerful bonhomie.

Meat is the favourite food choice. This could perhaps be due to the dry and arid climate of Kutch where only a few vegetable varieties grow and they don’t have much to choose from. Among greens, it’s mostly beans varieties which need very little water that are seen around.

One speciality from the Kutchi cuisine is its exotic mutton dish. The Kutchi masalas are a mix of cumin, methi (uluva), rice flour and toor dal, which invariably appear in almost all dishes. Kutcha kheema kebab, Chapli kebab, Narghesi kebab, Shami kebab… and a long line-up of kebabs are what sets Kutchi food apart.

How about trying out a few Kutchi specials? There you go with Shami kebab for starters.

Click here to read this recipe in Malayalam

Ingredients
½ kg mutton, chopped into small pieces
2 onions chopped
1 tsp ginger and garlic paste
100 gm chickpea split (soaked)
1 tsp chilli powder
¼ turmeric powder
Salt as required
1 tsp white khus-khus
4 tsp lime extract
1 egg

Garam masala as required

`Preparation
Wash the meat well and set aside to drain
Add the onions, ginger garlic paste, chickpea, chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt and khus khus to the meat and pressure cook
Wait for three whistles
When it cools down, ground it coarsely in a mixer grinder
Break the egg into it
Add the lime extract and garam masala
Pat into round cutlets and deep fry.

Shami kebab is ready