Indian Recipe for Galawat Kebab

Name: Galawat Kebab
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 800 gr mutton meat, minced; 100 gr raw papaya; 100 gr lamb fat; 75 gr roasted gram (chickpea) flour; 10 gr ground cayenne pepper; 20 gr ginger and garlic paste; 100 gr vegetable oil; salt, to taste; Lemon wedges and sliced onion, for garnish; Hot coal (for smoking); 5 gr black cardamom; 10 gr peppercorns; 2 gr cloves; 3 gr ground mace; 3 gr ground cardamom; 3 gr ground nutmeg; 10 gr ground allspice

November 19, 2020 | By Peg Kern

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Indian cuisine is incredibly varied, which is not surprising given the size and multi-ethnic nature of India itself! From meat kebabs to vegetarian palak, from curries to tandoors, Indian cuisine has it all. Today we’re featuring a recipe from our fabulous cooking vacations in India.

A kebab, of course, is some variety of cooked meat, and “galawat” here refers to the type of spice blend. In Awadhi cuisine, kebabs usually mean some type of minced meat on a skewer, grilled over charcoal. (Awadhi refers to the region of northern India from which it comes.) In this recipe, as you will see, there is an alternate way of getting the smokiness of charcoal into the dish, and you can easily omit the step if you prefer. Originally made with beef, you will now more often find galawat kebabs made with lamb.

We hope you’ll enjoy it!

Galawat Kebab

Serves: 6
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Cook method: Pan fry

Ingredients:

800 gr mutton meat, minced
100 gr raw papaya
100 gr lamb fat
75 gr roasted gram (chickpea) flour
10 gr ground cayenne pepper
20 gr ginger and garlic paste
100 gr vegetable oil
salt, to taste
Galawat masala spice mix (see below)
Lemon wedges and sliced onion, for garnish
Hot coal (for smoking)

Galawat Masala ingredients:

5 gr black cardamom
10 gr peppercorns
2 gr cloves
3 gr ground mace
3 gr ground cardamom
3 gr ground nutmeg
10 gr ground allspice

Instructions:

1. Make the galawat masala by grinding the ingredients together.

2. Mix together the minced mutton and lamb fat (or pass them together through a meat grinder if you buy the mutton meat whole).

3. Mix in the gram flour, cayenne, salt, and ginger/garlic paste.

4. Add the galawat masala and mix thoroughly.

5. Make a well in the meat, add a bit of fat and place the hot coal on it. Cover immediately. Leave it to “smoke” for 10-15 minutes, then discard the coal.

6. Heat vegetable oil in a skillet, pat the meat into medallions of about 60 gr each, and cook them on both sides until done.

7. Serve hot with onion slices and lemon wedges.

And don’t forget, for these and other recipes, try a cooking vacation in India! What’s your favorite Indian dish? Are you going to try this one with the hot coal, or go the easy route and omit the smoke? Let us know in the comments or on social media!