Sep 16, 2010

Hamburger kebab pita sandwiches


I confess that I'm not a big fan of beef. Don't give me a good piece of steak, because it will be completely wasted on me. I'm the kind of girl that will go to Ruth Chris and order chicken (gasp!!)...I just don't like the taste of beef.

The only way I will eat beef is when it doesn't taste like beef. That is why this hamburger kebab is right down my alley! I've made a similar recipe before from Cook's Illustrated, but that was way too beefy. This one has more spices, making it incredibly delicious!! Here's the recipe.

Hamburger kebab pita sandwiches
adapted from Quick and Easy Indian cooking

1 1/2 lb finely ground beef or lamb
6 to 7 tbsp coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
2 fresh, hot green chilies, cut into fine rounds and chopped
1/4 of a onion, finely chopped (see note)
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 lightly beaten egg (see note)
3 to 4 tbsp vegetable oil


1. Put the ground beef into a medium sized bowl. Add all other ingredients except the oil and mix well. Form ten 2 inch balls. Flatten the balls to make ten 3 1/2 inch hamburgerlike patties.

2. Just before eating, put 2 tbsp of the oil into a large nonstick frying pan and set over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, put as many kebabs as the pan will hold in a single layer. Turning them over every 20 seconds or so, cook the kebabs for about 2 1/2 minutes or until they have browned on both sides. Remove to a warm plate. Using the remaining oil to cook a second batch the same way.

3. Serve on pita bread with tomatoes and yogurt sauce (recipe to follow).


Yogurt sauce

1 cup plain yogurt
2 cloves of garlic, minced
small bunch of cilantro, chopped fine
small bunch of mint leaves, chopped fine
salt


1. Combine all ingredients.


Notes:
  • *The original recipe calls for 1 tbsp of chickpea flour. You are to heat the chickpea flour in a small cast iron frying pan and stir around over medium heat until the flour has turned a light brown color. I didn't know where to find chickpea flour, so I omitted it.
  • *The original recipe did not include onions, I just added it because I needed to get rid of some left over onions. It was a nice addition.
  • *The original recipe calls for 1/2 of an egg. I used a whole egg because my meat needed more "glue".

1 comments:

WendyinKK said...

I am the type that will prefer beef anytime over chicken, haha!!
I've never made burgers before, maybe one day I should.
Oh, so the burger is an Indian recipe, no wonder it called for chickpea flour.Here it is easily available because the Indians are the 3rd largest ethnic group in Malaysia.
They use chickpea flour all the time.

 

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