Vegetarian Shami Kebabs

Today's recipe is Vegetarian Kebabs or Dal Kebabs. It is a very gold option for appetizers and starters for your vegetarian friends. It is super tasty and delicious in taste. And easy to make. In India, Origin of kebabs was long back when the Mughals came to this land. With them, came the royal delicacies. They used to cook these delicacies with meat. But later on, many of the dishes were adopted by the Indian population with a vegetarian twist. One such recipe is kebabs. There are many variations of preparing vegetarian kebabs. It is made up of lentils or sometimes soya granules. I like to prepare it with lentils. It is rich in protein and easy to prepare and taste near about same as the original kebabs.

In this recipe, I have washed and soaked Split Bengal Gram for 15 minutes. Then cooked it with onions, garlic, ginger and garam masala and other spices in a pressure cooker or pressure pan till 3 whistles. When it is cooked, then I have dried all the water from the chana dal in an open pan. When it is completely dried out and was completely mushy, then I have transferred it to a plate. For freshness, I have added fresh coriander leaves and green chillies to it. Gave it a shape of the kebab or shape of a cutlet and then shallow fried it till both the sides were golden brown.

My Youtube Video:-

My complete written recipe as follows:-

Preparation Time:- 15 minutes  Standing Time:- 10 minutes  Cooking Time:- 40 minutes
Total Time:-65 minutes

Number of Servings:- 3 - 4 persons

1 cup = 250 ml
½ cup = 125ml
1/3 cup = 80 ml
1 tablespoon = 15 ml
1 teaspoon = 5 ml
½ teaspoon = 2.5 ml
¼ teaspoon = 1.25 ml

* Chana Dal (Split Bengal Gram):- 1 1/3 cups
* Onion:- 1 large (cut into thick slices)
* Garlic cloves:- 2 large
* Grated Ginger:- 1 teaspoon
* Cream:- ¼ cup
* Coriander Leaves:- 2 tablespoons (finely chopped)
* Green Chillies:- 2-4 ( finely chopped, you can adjust according to your taste)
* Black Cardamom:- 1
* Green Cardamom:- 3
*  Cloves:- 3
* Crushed Saunf ( Fennel Seeds):- ½ teaspoon
* Coriander Powder:- ½ teaspoon
* Cumin Powder:- ½ teaspoon
* Black Pepper Powder:- ¼ teaspoon
* Garam masala powder:- 1½ teaspoon
* Salt:- to taste
* Vegetable Oil:- For frying the kebabs (around 4 -5 tablespoons)
* Water:- 2 cups

1. Wash and soak the chana dal in the water for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, throw the water. Take a pressure cooker and add chana dal, 2 cups of water, sliced onions, garlic cloves, grated ginger, black cardamom, green cardamom, cloves, fennel seeds, coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala powder, black pepper powder and salt to salt in it. Cover the lid of the pressure cooker and cook under 3 whistle. ( Every cooker is different so cook according, If you feel, that the water is less in the pressure cooker, then add accordingly.) It should be cooked properly.

2. Now in a pan, add all the cooked chana dal, cook till all the water is evaporated and the dal is mushy.  The heat should be over medium flame. ( It will look little liquidy but will dry out once it is cooled.) Transfer it to a bowl and let it cool completely.

3. Once cooled completely, add the chopped coriander leaves, green chillies and fresh cream. Mix it well to form a smooth soft dough. Check for seasoning at this stage. Adjust accordingly.

4. Now apply some oil in your palm, take a small portion out of the dough and give it a shape of a kebab or a cutlet. Keep it aside on a greased plate. 

5. Heat some oil in a pan. Slide the kebabs in the pan and cook it from both sides till golden brown over a medium heat. 

6. Once done take it out in a serving dish and serve hot.

* People living outside India, and not aware of all the Indian spices and  Split Bengal Gram you will mostly get all of them in the Indian stores near your place. 

* If you do not have a pressure pan, then you can cook the chana dal in your regular pan. It will take little more time to cook. But for that, you have to soak the chana dal for at least 2 - 3 hours then following the same process as mentioned above.

Serving Tip:-  Serve it hot with mint and coriander chutney and onion rings as an appetizer.

Do try my recipe and leave your comments below. Till then Happy Cooking.!

Creative Commons by Madhurima Roy is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License