Vegetable Seekh Kebab!!
The onset of summer means fresh air, chirping birds, blooming flowers and of course grilling and outdoor cooking! We are vegetarians and I love to grill marinated veggies in tandoori dishes, grilling corn etc. But those are recipes for another post.
Today I would like to share my take on the delicious veg seekh kebab! I saw several recipes online by many food bloggers and Tarla Dalal and came up with a mix of all those recipes. My recipe is full of all the richness of your favorite vegetables and moong dal-cooked in very little oil and grilled on open flame.
So, let's get to the recipe!
Note: If you don't own a grill, you can still make this recipe in the oven or on the stove.
Ingredients:
Mixed Vegetables: 2 cups of chopped vegetables- carrots, corn, green beans (I used a 16 oz bag of frozen veggies).
Ginger- 1 medium piece grated into a paste
Garlic- 4-5 cloves grated into a paste
Onion- 3 small
Lemon- 1 medium
Potatoes- 3 medium- boiled and grated or mashed smooth.
Moong Dal (cooked)- about 2 cups
Bread Crumbs- 2-3 table spoons for binding
Spices:
Jeera- 1 tablespoon
Haldi- a pinch or two
Red Chilli Powder- 2-3 teaspoons or to taste
Tandoori Masala- 3-4 teaspoons or according to spice level
Chaat Masala- for sprinkling on top.
Salt- to taste
Process:
1) Boil the moong dal (add a little haldi during cooking) till soft and mushy in consistency. You can keep this ready the day before you plan to make the kebabs. The dal should be dry when you make the kebab.
2) Take a thick bottomed pan and add 1-2 tablespoons of oil. Once the oil is heated, add the jeera and haldi.
3) Once the jeera starts spluttering, add the ginger-garlic paste and let it fry for a minute or two.
4) Next, add the onion and let it cook.
5) To this mixture, add the vegetables and tandoori masala.
6) Once this gets cooked, add salt and red chili powder. Make sure to not overcook the veggies, otherwise the mixture will be too moist to roll into kebabs. Let this mixture cool down. Squeeze 1 lemon, taste the mixture and adjust salt and spice level according to taste.
You can prepare this mixture a day before as well.
(Special tip-Coarsely grind the prepared veggie mixture so that you do not bite into any big pieces of veggies. Take care, though, not to make it a paste.
7) Once the veg mixture, cooked dal and boiled potatoes are cool, mix them all the together with the bread crumbs. Again, check the taste and add salt if needed. If the mixture seems too moist, you can add one more boiled potato or more bread crumbs for binding.
8) Take your wooden skewer and roll the kebab mixture on it. Keep all your skewers ready.
9) Once your grill is hot, brush each skewer with a little bit of oil and grill on both sides. Once you see golden brown color on the kebab, you know it is done.
11) Sprinkle chaat masala.
12) Serve with tamarind-date chutney, mint chutney, ketchup, onions or any other condiment of your choice!
13) Enjoy!
Note:
1) If you don't have skewers, or a grill, you can shape the kebabs into a tikki and pan fry it on the stove as well.
