Chicken Shami Kebabs (Burgers?)

(from fortheloveofyum.wordpress.com)

Okay, this is one of those ambitious recipes I just had to try - I couldn't resist the lovely photo, plus, we loves us some Indian treats!

They were pretty good. But dry. Which is unforch. But of course there was very little fat in the chicken, so I'm not surprised. They were however quite flavourful.

I also made them into patties, not into little kebab size, as we were having them with a salad. They would be cute as little bites, but like, a lot of work.

The first night I served them with the 'xmas chutney', which was tasty; and the next time I globbed some 'Memories of Punjab' tamarind sauce on them - which was also yummy. I think if I venture down this road again, I'd keep some of the cooking liquid (who knew I had to drain it?). Anyhow, for those brave enough, here you go:

for cooking the chicken:
water, as needed
2 ½ lbs boneless chicken thighs, in large chunks (I used a mixture of thighs and some breast)
1 medium sized red onion, roughly sliced
half a bulb of garlic, peeled
2 inch piece of ginger, roughly chopped
1 cup yellow split pea lentils soaked overnight and washed (what? I used green lentils, cooked the same day, no soaking)
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
½ tsp whole cloves
6 green cardamom pods
10-12 dried red chilies, use less for less spicy (hmm, I used 3 biggie mexican chilies)
1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
2 bay leaves
salt, to taste

after cooking the chicken you will need:

1 cup chopped cilantro
½ cup chopped mint
2-3 green chilies, chopped (I used a large jalapeno, finely chopped, seeds and all)
½ a red onion, chopped
4 scallions, chopped
2 eggs
oil for frying

Cook the lentils until soft, 30 mins or so. Set aside.

In a large pan, add the chicken, a little oil, and all of the items listed (including spices) under the “for cooking the chicken” ingredients. Also, add a little water, about ½ cup. Cook the chicken on med heat for 15 mins and then turn the heat to medium low and continue cooking for 45 more mins, or until the chicken is very tender and all the water has evaporated. You may need to add more water to the pot if it evaporates too quickly, just make sure you cook until the chicken is tender and the onion, garlic, and ginger are very soft. Remove the cinnamon stick, black cardamom, and bay leaves.

Once the chicken is cooled, allow it to cool for 15-20 mins. After it has cooled slightly, transfer it to a large food processor with the cooked lentils and pulse until they are combined. Transfer the chicken and lentil mixture to a large bowl and add in the chopped cilantro, mint, scallions, green chilies, and red onion. It’s time to get messy and crack in the 2 eggs and mix it all together with your hands. Once everything is combined, form the chicken into round kebabs (or burgers!).

Next, in a frying pan heat some oil on medium heat and fry until browned on both sides. Enjoy!