On the heat. Medium suits it best

Ingredients

• 600 g lamb mince, lean
• 150 g chana dal, soaked 2 hours
• 1 onion, quartered
• 6 cloves garlic, 3 cm ginger
• 4 whole cloves, 1 black cardamom
• 1 cinnamon stick, 1 tsp cumin seed
• Whole dried chillies to your heat: 2 mild → 8 extra hot
• 300 ml water · 1½ tsp salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• Mint, coriander, 1 green chilli, all chopped fine
• Ghee, to fry

Method

1. Everything except the egg, herbs and ghee into a heavy pot with the water. Lid on, simmer 45 minutes.
2. Lid off and cook hard until the pot is completely dry. Any moisture left here and the kebabs collapse in the pan. This takes longer than you expect.
3. Cool fully. Pick out the cinnamon and black cardamom husk. Grind to a smooth, stiff paste — a food processor, pulsed, not a blender.
4. Work in the egg and the chopped herbs. Chill 30 minutes.
5. Shape into 16 flat discs about 1.5 cm thick, pressing the edges so they do not crack.
6. Shallow-fry in ghee over medium heat, three minutes a side, until deep brown and crusted. Drain on paper. Lemon, raw onion, mint chutney.

Cook's note. Make ahead. Shaped, uncooked shami freeze beautifully for three months. Layer them between sheets of paper and fry from frozen over lower heat.

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