Shami Kabab Recipe

Kebabs are a gift of the Mughals to us. The Middle-Eastern settlers relished eating meat in the form of kebabs and thus it was brought to India. Though there are a variety of kebabs, some of them are too delicious for words. Shami kebab is one of them. The soft, melt-in-your-mouth kebabs are made from minced meat and a host of spices. These kebabs were given birth in the city of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. The city of Nawabs chanced upon these kebabs when one of the Nawabs went toothless. Due to the foodie nature of the Nawab, he had lost all his teeth but wanted to eat meat. The meat-on-the-bone concept was common but this ruler asked his chef to prepare meat kebabs that he could enjoy without chewing. That's how shami kebabs came into being. Often times, people confuse shami kebabs with galouti kebabs but there lies a difference between the two. The former is a combination of minced meat and chana dal while the latter has a touch of raw papaya to the mixture.