Remembering Istanbul and Lamb Kebabs

In the middle of 2010, my mom and I packed our bags and took off to Istanbul. My sister joined us there later from another corner of the world. Istanbul was an ideal holiday location for the 3 of us. Upon our arrival in Istanbul we did a lot of touristy things: stay in a hotel on Istiklal Caddesi, visit Palaces and Churches, take a cruise on the Bosphorus, and go to the Grand Bazaar. But the most appealing part of Istanbul, to me, was the food.

After touring the Topkapi palace on our 1^st day, we walked down Istiklal Caddesi and stumbled upon a restaurant called Konak. As we entered, we witnessed ornate decorations on the wall and ceiling, waiters waltzing around in Turkish attire, and a lovely stone oven at one corner. We were thrilled to bits! None of us had done any research on the food and restaurants in Istanbul. We flipped through the menu and saw some mouthwatering kebabs along with their striking names. My sister and I were instantly attracted to the minced lamb kebab. My mother went for a bowl of lentil soup, which might sound meek in front of the mighty kebabs, but oh lord the Turks do know how to make lentil soup.

As we waited for our food, our server (as a computer engineer it is fun to use the word ‘server’ in this context) populated our table with oven fresh pita bread, salad with feta cheese and butter. No sooner had we finished licking the last remnants of the delectable hors d’oeuvre off our fingers than the server returned with the main course. The lentil soup was creamy, and you could most certainly taste the butter in it. We ordered another bowl instantly. The lamb kebabs, which were served with pita bread and fresh salad, were easily the most scrumptious I have EVER eaten. They had a lovely aroma of spices and the tender taste of perfectly marinated lamb. We were definitely in love with Konak, so much so that on our last day in Istanbul we paid it another visit! This time my mother was a little bolder and ordered an eggplant preparation. I tried the minced chicken kebabs and wolfed down every morsel on the plate. The only thought resonating in my head was: I wish I could carry some kebabs back home.

The Turks make kebabs not only from minced meat but also from whole meat. On another lovely day, we treated ourselves to Turkish red wine, lamb kebabs (of course), smoked salmon and grilled fish. It was hard to believe how good the food was. After we gorged on all these Turkish delights, we were rendered motionless. But there was room for dessert. There always is! Most of the shops were shut, but we spotted a bakery at the far end of Istiklal Street and quickly decided to be their patrons. I had a lovely circular slice of strawberry cheesecake. I vividly remember the base being sugary and cinnamony and the cheese cake having cut pieces of strawberries in it. Yes, the food made Istanbul an instant hit and a must-visit-again place.

So my attempt at making lamb kebabs at home was inspired by my gastronomical adventures in Istanbul.  This lamb kebab recipe is super simple.  All you need to do is mix all the ingredients, let the mixture rest for about 2 hours to infuse the spices into the meat, make small patties and shallow fry them. So easy!! You should absolutely try this recipe if you are a meat lover.

Ingredients

Serves 5

700g minced lamb
8 garlic cloves, peeled and mashed
3 green chilies, finely chopped
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1½ tablespoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 bunch coriander, finely chopped (you could use Parsley also)
1½ tablespoons chickpea flour/ gram flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons pepper
2 teaspoons salt
4-5 tablespoons cooking oil

For garnish:

2-3 lemons
¼ cup chopped coriander (you could use Parsley also)

Method of Preparation

1. Roast the coriander seeds and cumin seeds on a flat pan over medium flame. Make sure you keep stirring the seeds to prevent them from burning. Keep roasting them until the cumin seeds turn dark brown in color and the coriander seeds turn lightly brown in color. Around 2-3 minutes.
2. Once they have been roasted, transfer the hot seeds into a mortar and pestle. You could also use a rolling pin on a flat surface. Grind the seeds until they are completely pulverized into fine powder.
3. On the same flat pan, roast the gram flour on medium flame. Keep stirring it to prevent it from burning. Roast it until it turns lightly brown in color. Around 3-4 minutes.
4. Mix all the ingredients except the oil in a large bowl. Cover with cling film and let it rest for about 2 hours in the fridge.
5. To make the kebabs, oil your hands a little. Make 3 cm balls of lamb; flatten them as much as you can into discs.
6. To fry the kebabs, put 2 tablespoon of oil on a large non-stick frying pan on medium-high flame.  When the oil is hot, lower the flame to medium and place the lamb discs on the pan as many as it can hold in a single layer. Turning them over every 30 seconds, cook for about 8-10 minutes until both the sides are uniformly brown.
7. Remove the kebabs from the pan on a plate covered with a kitchen towel to soak excess oil.
8. Keep the oil on the pan to cook the next batch the same way (step 6). Remove any onion or coriander fallen off the kebabs to keep the pan clean.
9. Transfer the kebabs to the serving plate. Garnish with a squeeze of lemon and chopped coriander.

Serve hot.