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Tamarind Kababs

These special little kababs are tangy, spicy, moist and delicious. They are great as a little appetiser, or part of a full meal. One of the best things about these kababs is that they can be either pan-fried or oven-baked.
Print Recipe
Servings: 25 Kababs
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 500 gm mince I used a beef and mutton mince mixture but even chicken mince will work
  • 1 small red onion roughly chopped
  • 1/2 tbsp garlic paste
  • 1/2 tbsp ginger paste
  • 2 tbsp thick tamarind paste
  • 2 tbsp fried onion crushed
  • 2 green or red chillies
  • small handful of chopped coriander leaves and stems
  • 1 tsp salt or to taste
  • 1 tsp paprika powder
  • 1 tsp black pepper powder
  • 1/2 tsp cumin powder
  • 1/2 tsp coriander powder
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
  • juice of half a lemon
  • 1 small egg beaten
  • 1-2 slices brown bread toasted and grinded into crumbs (or 2-4 tbsp breadcrumbs)
  • vegetable oil for frying
  • sweet or spicy tamarind sauce for glazing/serving

Method
 

  1. Recipe for my spicy tamarind sauce HERE. For my sweet tamarind, check HERE.
    Mince the onion in a food processor and then squeeze out and discard all the excess water. Put the onion back in the machine and add the green chillies, chopped coriander, ginger, garlic, tamarind, lemon juice and fried onions. Blitz together to combine. Add the mince plus all the spices/seasoning and blend it all together.
    Turn the mince mixture out into a bowl and add the breadcrumbs. Gradually add the beaten egg while mixing.
    Cover the bowl and refrigerate for about an hour.
    When ready to cook, remove the mixture and take small amounts, shape them into the size you want. If the mixture feels too sticky, lightly wet your hands with some water before shaping. You can cover and refrigerate the kababs for a while, this will help them hold their shape during frying/baking.
    Put a little oil in a frying pan and shallow fry the kababs, making sure to turn them regularly so that they are cooked through and browned from all sides. Once all are done, put the kababs in a pan and drizzle some tamarind sauce, then gently toss them over high heat so that the sauce forms a glaze over the kababs.
    You can also bake these kababs on a lightly oiled tray in a hot oven (200 C) for about 5-8 minutes per side. When they are all done, arrange them on a tray and brush the kababs with tamarind sauce and put them under a hot grill for just a couple of minutes .
    Optional: Finally, light a coal and smoke the kababs to give them a BBQ aroma and flavour.
    Serve with some extra tamarind dipping sauce.
    Enjoy!