NARGISI KEBAB
INDIA
Last time I was in India, I stayed nearly three weeks, traveling to different cities once ruled by the Mughals. Throughout this time, friends or acquaintances would rave about nargisi kebab as being one of the great Mughal culinary achievements, except that it seemed to be an elusive dish. Even when I saw it on a menu, it would not be available. Finally, when I got to Delhi, I was introduced to Vir Sanghvi, India’s top food critic and a star journalist, and his delightful wife, Seema, by my great friends Bobby and Bipasha Gosh—Bobby is the editor in chief of the Hindustan Times and Bipasha is vice president of international marketing at NBCUniversal. Vir and Seema took me to Dum Pukht restaurant, and as Vir was ordering our meal, including a stupendous biryani, I lamented that I had not been able to taste nargisi kebab anywhere I’d been because it was never available. Vir, being totally wonderful, called chef Gulam Qureshi and explained to him my desperation at not having yet had the chance to try nargisi kebab, and he asked him if he could make us some. And he did! Finally, I was able to try the Mughal Indian dish that is at the origin of the Scotch egg, (a large meatball with a boiled egg inside it, rolled into breadcrumbs, fried and eaten at room temperature). I am so glad I did as, not surprisingly, it is far superior to the English version. You can serve nargisi kebab plain, which is how we had it at Dum Pukht, or you can serve it in a sauce for which I give a recipe below. If you want to serve it plain, just fry the kebab and serve.
SERVES 6
FOR THE NARGISI KEBABS
6 organic eggs
1 pound 5 ounces (600 g) boneless lean lamb shoulder or leg, cut into small pieces
1 small piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely minced
1 clove garlic, minced to a fine paste
1¼ teaspoons Garam Masala 2
1¼ teaspoons Kashmiri chili powder
½ teaspoon finely ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
4 small green chilies, seeded and coarsely chopped
A handful of cilantro leaves
A few fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons fine breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus more to oil your hands
Sea salt
FOR THE CURRY SAUCE
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 large onions (1 pound 5 ounces/600 g total), finely chopped
1 small piece ginger, peeled and finely minced
1 clove garlic, minced to a fine paste
½ teaspoon Garam Masala 1
½ teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder
½ teaspoon finely ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
6 medium tomatoes (1 pound 5 ounces/600 g total), processed to a fine puree (or an equal amount of canned peeled whole tomatoes)
12 cashews or 20 blanched almonds, soaked for 1 hour in hot water, then drained and processed until finely ground
Sea salt
TO FINISH
Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
A few sprigs cilantro, most of the stems discarded, finely chopped, for garnish
1. To make the kebabs: Put the eggs in a pan full of water and bring to a boil over medium heat. Take off the heat and let sit for 5 minutes, then discard the hot water, let the eggs cool, and peel them.
2. Process the lamb in a food processor until finely ground. Add the ginger, garlic, spices, chilies, herbs, breadcrumbs, oil, and salt to taste and process until very finely ground. Transfer to a bowl and divide into 6 equal portions.
3. Put a little oil in a bowl, which you will use to oil your hands to shape the kebabs. Lightly oil your hands, then flatten one portion of the meat mixture into a medium-thin round that is large enough to wrap around a hard-boiled egg. Place the egg in the middle of the meat patty and wrap the meat around the egg. Smooth the seams and place on a plate. Make the other kebabs in the same way and refrigerate until it is time to fry them.
4. To make the curry sauce: Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat. Ad the onions and when they start sizzling, reduce the heat to low and sauté until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic, and spices and stir for a minute or so. Add the pureed tomatoes and let bubble for about 10 minutes, or until you see the oil rise to the surface. Add the ground nuts and a little water if the sauce is too thick and salt to taste. Stir for a couple of minutes.
5. Set a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet. Pour 2½ inches (6 cm) vegetable oil into a deep skillet and heat over medium heat until very hot (if you drop a piece of bread in the oil, the oil should immediately bubble around it). Working in batches of 1 or 2, drop the kebabs into the oil and fry for 2 to 3 minutes, turning them so that they crisp up and color evenly. Remove with a slotted spoon to the rack to drain the excess oil. At this point you can either serve them plain, or with the curry sauce on the side, or you can drop them into the sauce and let them cook in the sauce for a couple of minutes before serving them garnished with the chopped cilantro.
