Misbah ul-Haq's 99 and Who wants Shahid Afridi's Shami Kebabs?

And a very good afternoon to you!  What a thrilling day on the cricket pitch.  The hunky Misbah ul-Haq belted out a spectacular 99 runs in Pakistan's first innings against New Zealand and I enjoyed each one of them.  Great stuff from the captain!  And props must go out to Taufiq, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, and little Adnan Akmal!  Do you know he almost got a world record for most catches by a wicket-keeper in an innings?  He only had one more to go!  So right on Adnan...you're quickly becoming one of my favourites!  In an interview way back in December, Shoaib Akhtar was saying how he enjoys New Zealand because the food is good; that is great news because good food makes for good cricket!  One can see that my lovely lads are well fed because they're playing sooooo well!  I love my team!  I love my lovely lads! 

Now speaking of good food, I promised you a few days ago that I'd show you Shahid Afridi's Shami Kebabs.


Steady yourselves for this one!

I'm late, but I keep my promises.  Sorry for the tardiness, but once you get a look at this, you'll agree that everyone will want Shahid Afridi's Shami Kebabs.  Now go get your cutting board and a pot and let's go to town.

Shahid Afridi's Shami Kebabs for Limited Overs Cricket

First things first;  I'm going to admit that I use the Shan spices for this one.  I'm writing their recipe on the blog today because Shami Kebab spice mixes are very hard to find, especially in Canada.   If you can't find the shami kebab prepared spices, then follow my directions below.

Ingredients:
1 kg ground (minced) beef or chicken
1 cup chana daal (split chickpeas), uncooked
3 chopped onions
4 cm piece of ginger, crushed to a paste
5-7 cloves of garlic, crushed to a paste
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon chili powder (lal mirch)
1 teaspoon paprika (optional for colour)
2 whisked eggs
salt
some oil for cooking
In place of the Shan spice mix use:
                          1 teaspoon coriander seed
                          1 teaspoon cuminseeds
                          5 black peppercorns
                          5 green cardamom pods
                          5 cloves
                          some fenugreek seeds
                          dry roast these spices in a pan, then grind them into a powder.

1.  In a large pot, mix the ground beef or chicken with the chickpeas, garlic, onions, ginger, bay leaf, lal mirch, paprika and salt along with  your freshly ground spice mix.
Add 6 glasses of water, cover and cook on low heat about 45 minutes.

2. When everything is tender, about 2 cups of liquid should remain in the pot.  Grind the meat mixture into a coarse paste.  Once the paste has cooled down, add the eggs and knead the mixture well.    You want the paste to be wet and soft, not dry and hard.  Use an extra egg if necessary.

3.  Shape the mixture into around 30 round, flat kebabs, about a centimetre thick.

4.  Heat up some oil in a pan, and deep fry the kebabs until they're golden brown on each side.  Serve with roti, fresh pita bread or with fresh tandoori naan from the tandoori bakery, and freshly prepared mint chutney.  See here if you forget how to make it:

http://kikiscookinforcricket.blogspot.com/2011/01/captain-and-shafiq-mint-chutney-and.html
On a quick side note:  after the meat has been cooked, ground into a paste and cooled, you may also add some finely chopped coriander, green chiles and finely chopped mint and onion along with the whisked eggs.  It will add another dimension of deliciousness to the kebabs.   That's a tip that's printed on the box...great advice!

Right, so thanks again to the Shan people for putting that recipe out there for the public; and if you can't find it, no worries, the above recipe is the exact same thing, you'll only have to make a few extra steps to roast and grind your spices.  It'll turn out just as delicious.

And there you have it...Shami kebabs, just as delicious as Shahid Afridi's wrong'un!  Have a fabulous day, and keep on cheering for my lovely lads...they're just fabulous out there!

Happy Cricket!  Happy Kebab!