History of kebab

“Kebab” or “Kabab” is originally a variety of Irani meat (Mainly Lamb) dishes. As time passed Kebab got a dignified space in the cuisinesof Middle East, Turkey, South Asia and presently Worldwide. In English Kebab generally refers to the “Shish Kebab” served on the skewer. In the Middle East, however, Kebab refers to meat that is cooked over or next to flames; large or small cuts of meat, or even ground meat; it may be served on plates, in sandwiches, or in bowls. The traditional meat for Kebab is lamb, but depending on local tastes and taboos, it may now be beef, goat, chicken, pork; fish and seafood; or even vegetarian foods like falafel or tofu. Like other ethnic foods brought by travelers, the Kebab has become part of everyday cuisine in many countries around the globe.

The origin of Kebab may lie in the short supply of cooking fuel in the Near East, which made the cooking of large foods difficult while urban economies made it easy to obtain small cuts of meat at a butcher's shop.According to Ibn Battuta, a Moroccan traveler, in India, Kebab was served in the royal houses during the Delhi Sultanate period(1206-1526 AD), and even commoners would enjoy it for breakfast with naan. The dish has been native to the Near East and ancient Greece since antiquity. Even it is heard that when Alexander met King Porus, he offered him some Indian delicacies similar to Kebab. But officially Kebabs came to India in Mughal era and then slowly the same was Indianized.

Did you know?

The phrase “Kebab” is Persian in origin and Arabic tradition has it that the dish was invented by medieval Persian soldiers who used their swords to grill meat over open-field fires. Later on Swords were replaced by skewers.

Below are brief details about some popular Kebabs:

Chelow Kebab

Chelow Kebab is the national dish of Iran. It is a sort of combo meal consisting saffron basmati, grilled tomatoes, poached eggs, Shish Kebab, Reshmi Kebab etc. Chelow Kebab is best accompanied by sour yogurt (Chaas).

Kakori Kebab

The name Kakori is originated from the name of the small town in Uttar Pradesh, India. Some says that Kakori Kebab was created by Nawab of Kakori; Syed Mohammad Haider Kazm who, after receiving complaints from a British officer about the hardness of the Kebabs, ordered his cooks to prepare a tender Kebab .They finally came out with this Kakori Kebab. Raan ki maachli is used to make this Kebab. Softness of Kakori Kebab helped to gain its popularity amongst toothless Nawabs.

Tunde ke Kebab

Tunde ke Kebab is made of minced meat which is popular in Lucknow. It is said that there was once a Nawab (royal family member) who loved Kebabs. In his old days without tooth it was difficult to eat Kebabs. He announced that the person who makes the softest Kebab would henceforth enjoy royal patronage. The secret recipe was created by Haji Murad Ali, who had only one hand (Tunda in Hindi). It is believed that this is the origin of the name, Tunde ke Kebab. The secret recipe apparently has 160 spices, including sandalwood. The recipe is a family secret and is passed down to the generations by the ladies of the house. His Family still runs a very famous Kebab Shop in Lucknow with multiple outlets.

Shish Kebab

In English the word “Kebab” generally refers to Shish Kebab. The dish consists of Meat threaded in Skewer and grilled along with some vegetables like Onion, Tomatoes, mushrooms etc. The same is available and popular everywhere in the World. It is considered as the oldest form of Kebabs.

Boti Kebab

Boti Kebab hails from Hyderabad. It was a very significant dish during the Nizam’s era. Tender pieces of boneless mutton dipped in spice egg wash, rolled in crumbs and deep fried.

Hara Bhara Kebab

Specially designed for veggie food lovers. It gets the green colour from the Spinach in it.

Fish Tikka Kebab

Fisheterians will love to have this. Generally Bekti is used to make this delicacy. Best served with French fries.

Shammi Kebab

Shammi Kebab means Syrian Kebab in Arabic. These Kebabs were introduced to South Asia during the Mughal era. Some of the cooks at Mughal durbar were from Syria as well. The Sham refers to either Syria specifically or the Levant in general, and these Kebabs literally means Syrian Kebabs or Levantine Kebabs in Arabic. The Shammi Kebab are also popular in Afghanistan and Azerbaijan.

Galouti Kebab

Galouti Kebab was created for an aging Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Lucknow who lost his teeth, but not his passion for meat dishes. ‘Galouti’ or ‘Galawati’ means “melt in your mouth”. Traditionally, green papaya is used to make it tender. After being mixed with a few select herbs and spices the very finely ground meat is shaped into patties and fried in pure ghee until they are browned. The original recipe is supposed to have more than 100 aromatic spices.

Did you know?

Alexander Dumas is best known for writing such novels as The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo, but he also traveled and wrote about food. His famous recipe of Lamb Kebab was adapted by Famous cook Steven Raichlen to add a traditional Georgian spice mix.

What complements Kebab best?

Kebab can be considered a self sufficient dish. But Parathas with pickles, Buttered rice, Bread rolls and French fries goes well with Kebab.

 

About Awadhi Cuisine

About Awadhi Cuisine

AWADHI CUISINE

Awadhi Cuisine is from the city of Lucknow is the capital of the state of Uttar Pradesh in Central-South Asia and Northern India.

The cuisine consists of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.

Awadh has been greatly influenced by Mughal cooking techniques.



The cuisine of Lucknow bears similarities to those of Persia, Kashmir, Punjab and Hyderabad.

The city is famous for its Nawabi foods.


The bawarchis and rakabdars of Awadh gave birth to the dum style of cooking or the art of cooking over a slow fire.


The richness of Awadh cuisine lies not only in the variety of cuisine but also in the ingredients used like mutton, paneer, and rich spices including cardamom and saffron.


Dastarkhwan, a Persian term, literally means a laid-out ceremonial dining spread. It is customary in Awadh to sit around and share the Dastarkhwan.


The Chefs of Awadhi transformed the traditional dastarkhwan with elaborate dishes like kababs, kormas, kaliya, nahari-kulchas, zarda, sheermal, roomali rotis and parathas.


During Ramzan, the month of fasting, the cooks and the ladies of the house are busy throughout the day preparing the iftari (the meal eaten at the end of the day’s fast), not only for the family but for the friends and the poor.


Id is celebrated with varieties of siwaiyan (vermicelli) – Muzzaffar is a favourite in Lucknow.


Sheermals were invented by mamdoo bawarchi more than one and a half century ago. They are saffron covered parathas made from a dough of flour mixed with milk and ghee and baked in iron tandoors.

The Awadhi/Lucknow dastarkhwan would not be complete unless it had the following dishes.

.Qorma (braised meat in thick gravy),
.Salan (a gravy dish of meat or vegetable),
 .Qeema (minced meat),
.Kababs (pounded meat fried or roasted over a charcoal fire)

.Pasinda (fried slivers of very tender meat, usually kid, in gravy)

.Rice is cooked with meat in the form in the form of a
Pulao,

.Chulao (fried rice) or
Served plain.

There would also be a variety of rotis.

Desserts comprise

Kheer (milk sweetened and boiled with whole rice to a thick consistency),

Halwa,

Phirni

Kebab

Lucknow is proud of its Kebabs. The Kakori Kebabs, Galawat ke Kebabs, Shami Kebabs, Boti Kebabs, Patili-ke-Kebabs, Ghutwa Kebabs and Seekh Kebabs are among the known varieties.

Seekh Kebab : It was originally prepared from beef mince on skewers and cooked on charcoal fire. Now lamb mince is preferred for its soft texture.

Kakori kabab : The mince for the kabab is to be obtained from no other part but the raan ki machhli (tendon of the leg of mutton) other ingredients include khoya, white pepper and a mix of powdered spices which remains a closely guarded secret adds to the perfect blend.

Shami Kabab : Made from mince meat, with chopped onion and coriander and green chillies usually added to the mixture, the kebabs are round patties filled with spicy surprises and the tangy raw green mango.

Galawat kabab : A variant made without any admixture or binding agents and comprising just the minced meat and the spices is the Galawat kabab.

Pasanda Kebab : Piccata (thin flattened chunk) of lamb marinated (red chiili powder, ginger & garlic paste, papaya and garam masala) and then sautéed on a griddle.

Boti kebab : Boti kebab is lamb marinated in yoghurt and skewered, then well cooked. Traditionally, Boti Kebab (Lamb) is cooked in a clay oven called a tandoor.
 Vegetarian kebabs include Dalcha Kebab, Kathal ke Kebab, Arbi ke Kebab, Rajma Galoti Kebab (kidney bean kebab cooked with aromatic herbs), Zamikand ke Kebab (Lucknowi yam kebabs), etc.

Curry preparations

Korma



Korma is actually the Indian name for the technique of braising meat. It originated in the lavish Moghul cuisine wherein lamb or chicken was braised in velvety, spiced sauces, enriched with ground nuts, cream and butter. While kormas are rich, they are also mild, containing little or no cayenne or chillies.


Ther are both vegetarian(navratan korma) and non-vegetarian(chicken, lamb, beef & fish korma) varieties of korma. Murgh Awadhi Korma is a classic from Lucknow.


Kaliya is a mutton preparation with gravy along with the compulsory inclusion of turmeric or saffron.

Rice preparations


Biryani derived from the Persian word 'Birian',which means 'roasted before cooking', biryani is a mixture of rice(basmati), meat/vegetables, yogurt and spices.


Lucknow Biryani or Awadh Biryani is a form of Pukki Biryani. Pukki means 'cooked'. Both the meat and rice are cooked separately and then layered and baked. The process also lives up to the name Biryani in Persian meaning 'fry before cooking'


It basically has three steps. First, the meat is seared in ghee and cooked in water with warm aromatic spices till meat is tender. The meat broth is drained out. Second, the rice is lightly fried in Ghee, and cooked in the meat broth from the previous step. Third, cooked meat and cooked rice are layered in a Handi. Sweet flavors are added. The Handi is sealed and cooked over low heat. The result is a perfectly cooked meat, rice, and a homogenous flavor of aromatic meat broth, aromatic spices and sweet flavors.



The difference between biryani and pullao is that while pullao is made by cooking the meat in ghee with warm aromatic spices and cooking it in water till the meat is tender, then adding the rice in the meat broth along with meat which is then sealed and cooked over low heat till it's done, whereas biryani, the rice is boiled or parboiled separately in spiced water and then layered with meat curry or marinade, depending on the type of biryani being cooked, which is then sealed and cooked over low heat till it's done.