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What happens when you accidentally defrost half a kilo of mutton keema on a weeknight? In my kitchen, it usually means a large batch of keema matar, large enough to freeze a box for a rainy day. But sometimes, even the one-trick pony needs a little rest. Thumbing a well-thumbed copy of Priti Narain’s The Essential Delhi Cookbook , therefore, I decided it was time for a kebab experiment. A raw versus cooked mince duel — kachhe keeme ki tikiya pitted against a fail-safe shami.
Dividing the pile into two, I marinated the first lot with a teaspoon of raw papaya, some ginger and salt, and hung half a cup of curd in a kerchief over the sink for 30 minutes. In a pan, meanwhile, I browned a sliced onion, and ground in a mixer half a cup of roasted chickpeas, 1½ tablespoons roasted poppy seeds and a scant teaspoon of garam masala. The recipe asked for cinnamon powder and chironji too, but I skipped those. Mixing everything together, I shaped them into discs, filling each with chopped ginger, coriander and green chillies, before frying — covered and on a low flame — in oil spiked with ghee.
Meanwhile, the keema for the shami was being pressure cooked with a quarter cup of chana dal (Bengal gram), six cloves of ground garlic, one-inch piece ginger, ground, one-inch cinnamon, four green cardamoms, four cloves, a bay leaf and salt in about 300ml of water. Now, before the purists come chasing with an eight-inch knife, let me clarify that Narain suggests you cook the keema in a pan for about an hour or until the mince is tender and the water has evaporated. But I must confess the only significant difference I’ve noticed between mince cooked in a pressure cooker and a pan is the cooking time (cut down by half!). Once cool, remove the bay leaf and the cinnamon and grind the mixture. Shape into discs, fill with chopped ginger, coriander and chillies, before frying them much the same way.
The verdict: those of a meat-loving persuasion will be pleased by both, but the texture of the shami is a shade better. That it also involves less effort and time (if using a pressure cooker), and can be made ahead, certainly helps.
Yet dinner that night was ordered in. Patience flew out the kitchen window at the first whistle.
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