Recipe For Shami Kabab

Shami skewers are tender patties made with beef and chana dal (yellow split peas) that are then dipped in egg and fried. These kebabs are kid-friendly, naturally gluten-free, and super healthy! Shami Kabab Recipe makes a great batch you can enjoy now and freeze the rest later!

Shami Kebab

If you're Pakistani, chances are your mother/relative/aunt has a freezer of shami kebab waiting for the next unexpected guest, hungry child, or restful night.

This is a somewhat common practice, and with good reason. That means when life gets hectic, there are shami kebabs at your fingertips. Silky smooth, healthy, and tasty kebabs, ready to defrost, grill, and serve to someone who will probably thank you.

Shami kebabs are freezer-safe, with no perceptible change in texture, quality, or flavor, and they are also incredibly versatile. Enjoy them with your afternoon chai, as a side to make any dinner menu more substantial, or, my favorite, on a shami kebab sandwich with ketchup or sweet and sour sauce.

How To Make Shami Kebab

Shami Kebab is one of those cooking endeavors that looks way more daunting than it really is. Here is a guide:

Grind all the spices in a Shami Kabab Masala. If you don't have a spice/coffee grinder, you can use a mortar and pestle, although it's more complicated.
Add beef, lentils (dal/daal), onion, and spices to Instant Pot or stovetop with water. Cook. Bake more moisture.
Pulse to chop an onion, green chile, and herbs in a food processor. Remove and add the meat and lentil mixture. Process until smooth.
Break an egg, mix everything together, and form into patties. Roast.
Admire how easy it was to create these treasures every time.

Use Of Meat And Minced Beef

Kabab Shami Recipe purists will rightly insist that chunks of beef be used instead of ground meat. This gives them the traditional silky texture of "Resha" as it is often said in Urdu. I grew up on the ground beef version and that's what I usually use. I hope to try 'boti' meat one day and will let you know when I do.

The main difference is an increase in cook time (usually 45 minutes in the Instant Pot). You should also run the chunks of beef goulash through the food processor first, just like the haleem.

Update: I tried this recipe with beef goulash (boti de boeuf). While they are easier to dry out, I found them to taste a bit "meatier" in the same proportion. If you want to use it, it's 100% doable with this recipe. I plan to try again and provide updated instructions and possibly a modified ratio of beef boti to chana dal when using chunks of beef stew.

Other Tips and Instruction

The key to a good Recipe Shami Kabab is to ensure that the mixture is dry enough so that the kebabs don't get excess water and can hold their shape. If you feel the mixture is too wet, try frying more than you think. If you have time, refrigerate the mixture overnight after letting it cool. Finally, if it still doesn't hold, try adding breadcrumbs to absorb the moisture.

For this recipe, the chana dal (yellow split peas) should be soaked for at least 1 hour. A longer soak (overnight) is even better, but I've found that some lentil pieces stay intact no matter how long you soak them. (Another great recipe that uses this dal is my Instant Pot Pakistani Chana Dal.)