Gola Kabab

Historical Background

Kabab of Pakistan and Afghanistan  – rolled meatballs originating in Peshawar  and Kandahar

Gola or Lola kabab, a kind of rolled meat ball , are originated in Kandahar, Afganistan by the Poshtuns ; but it’s incredible softness and melt-in- mouth kind made it so popular , even beyond the boundary of it’s origin . The shape of the kabab resembles to that of the cannons or “gola”s , that is why it is named gola kabab. Gola kababs can be pan fried in a very little oil or can be grilled on charcoal or even baked and broiled in a oven . When grilled on charcoal , the golas of minced meat are put around the skewer , tied around with a thread , because unlike boti or sheekh kabab , only minced meat are used and if they are not tied with thread , the kabab may fall apart . For gola kabab , not only minced meat is used , the meat should be double minced , i.e, the mince meat will be beaten / blended again with spices before they are put on charcoal or pan fried . :) Many uses binding agent like egg or besan( gram flour) in the recipe, but trust me , you won’t get the authentic taste if you use those binding ingredients . The kababs tend to fall apart and that’s the beauty .

GOLA KABAB

There are some very important notes to be remembered for the perfect gola kabab . I will discuss them at the end of the recipe.

Ingredients:

Ingredients to be mixed with mince:

Minced Beef 2 cups ( 1cup= 250 ml)

Ginger , grated 2 and half tea spoon

Garlic grated 1 tea spoon

Raw papaya , grated 2-3 tbl spoon

Chopped onion 2 tbl spoon

Fried onion  1/4 th cup

Chopped green chili

Chopped mint 2 tbl spoon

Chopped cilantro 1 tbl spoon

Ghee 1 tbl spoon

Salt t o taste

Other ingredients:

Special Masala

Yogurt 1 tbl spoon

Cinnamon Powder 1/4th tea spoon

Nutmeg Powder 1/4th teaspoon

Charcoal Smoke of one charcoal

Special Masala:

zeera 1 tea spoon

Whole coriander 1 teaspoon

Black pepper 1 teaspoon

Cloves 5/6

Fennel half teaspoon

All spice/ kabab chini 2/3

Star anise , half of one

Black cardamom, half of one

4/5 green cardamom

Dry red chili 2/ 3

Mace half a teaspoon

Grind them together into a fine powder . We need all , the whole quantity for this recipe . I skipped one spice, which is known as “filfil daraz”"kashmiri mirch" talhari mirch" or long pepper , since I couldn’t find them in my nearby grocery . If you get them, take only 1 in this masala.

Procedure:

1. Put the minced beef in a food processor or blender with all the ingredients mentioned in “ingredients to be mixed with the mince”. Don’t add any water . beat / blend well .

2. Add 1 tbl spoon of yogurt and special masala in it . Don’t take the water of the yogurt . try to drain out the water from it before adding with the mince .

3. Smoke the mince with charcoal for five minutes . For that lit the charcoal very well , place it in a small bowl and put that small bowl on the mince . Then add ghee to the charcoal to create the smoke . cover the bowl with a lid and smoke the mince for 5 minutes.

4. Shape the kababs And keep it in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours . Don’t put them in the deep chamber. Keeping them in refrigerator for a longer time will help the kababs to get firmer and also the spices will get into very well .

5. For Pan frying , take a little oil to fry . At first , fry them on medium low heat for 10 minutes then increase the heat and fry another five minutes . Don’t over fry or else the meat will get tight . Be vary careful while flipping over . Try to flip one by one carefully , otherwise they may fall apart .

You may bake the kababs in oven for 15 minutes at 375 FH and then broil another 5 minutes or until done .

Notes:

1. Don’t wash the mince . So before making the keema or mince , wash your meat well . There should be no water in the mince .

2. I used grated ginger, garlic and papaya to avoid extra water .

3. The kababs tend to fall apart , so fry them gently . Don’t try to turn them over again and again . After taking them out from the oven , take out the skewer carefully , or else u may end up with broken kababs. If you are afraid of broken kababs , you may tie a thread around the kabab before frying and grilling .

GOLA KEBAB