Shaami, Shikampur aur Kofte
I remember when I was kid, my mother used to get up early and prepare the whole days meal while we were all still sleeping, and also fix everybody’s lunch boxes, sometimes each one different from one another according to the likes of each person. By lunch time in the school, tired and bored, lunch was always what I looked forward to. Yummy and heartfully delicious simple home food to satisty the hungry stomach. Later, when I was in the junior college, I had to stay away from my parents. I then seriously missed food, especially filling lunches. That is when I began to develop a like for Shaami-sandwiches for lunch everyday. My mother would prepare Shaami in bulk, and send to me. I used to store them in the freezer, content and happy. That is when I learnt to prepare these.
Shaami, Shikampur and Kofta are all prepared the same way from a dough like cooked meat+dal+spices paste. Boneless/Minced meat is cooked dry along with lentils, onions and spices to perfection, along with a few fresh herbs, spices and chillies. This is then ground to a dough like paste which is then shaped into various kinds. If you shape it into a diamond like oblong kawabs, it is called as ‘Shaami‘, if you shape it into a small patty with a finely chopped onion+yogurt+herb relish, it is called as ‘Shikampur‘, and if you shape them into small golf balls, they are called as ‘Kofta‘. Each of them are shallow fried in oil and then eaten.
Preparing the meat+dal mixture before hand, and storing it in sandwich bags, like I have explained below, saves a lot of time. Infact during my holidays, I buy the ingredients for this in bulk, and prepare and store them in the freezer for future use. Comes extremely handy to me.
You can serve Shaami and Shikampur as snacks along with chutney to your guests, or add them between your sandwich bread for lunch, between burger buns for a delightful meal, or you can add a few Shaami along with little chutney, salad and mayonnaise and roll them between a Paratha as a wrap. Kids will love it.
Shaami and Shikampur and Kofte – Fragrant and Spicy Meat Kababs
Ingredients:
Boneless Lamb/Veal meat (or) Minced Lamb/Veal meat – 700 gms
Yellow onions – 2 large, roughly chopped
Chana Dal – 1 cup (pre-soaked for 1 hour and drained)
Turmeric – 1/4 tsp
Red Chilli powder/Lal mirch powder – 3 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp
Garam masala powder- 1 tsp
Cinnamon sticks/Dalchini – one 8 cm long stick
Salt – 3 tsp
Ginger garlic paste – 2 tbsp
Green Serrano chillies (or) Small green chillies – around 12, roughly chopped
Small Thai Red chillies – 3, chopped (optional)
Lemon juice – 4 tbsp
Cilantro – 1 cup, roughly chopped
Method:
1. In a pressure cooker at medium high heat, pour half cup water, and add lamb, pre-soaked dal, chopped onions, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt, cumin seeds, and ginger garlic paste and cinnamon stick. Mix well. Close the lid and let it pressure cook until the meat is tender. Later, open the lid and let it cook until all the liquid has evaporated and it is mostly a dry mixture. There should be no water in the mixture left. This is important, else you will not be able to properly shape them later on and they will end up cracking while you shallow fry them in the end.
2. Let the mixture cool down. Once cool, remove and discard the cinnamon stick. Add the mixture to a food processor. Throw in the cilantro, garam masala powder, chillies, lemon juice and process without adding any water until smooth and pasty. The mixture is ready.
During earlier times, this mixture was grinded using a Sil-Batta or a grinding stone from the past. Sil referring to flat stone and Batta referring to a cylindrical grinding stone. The process must have been a vigorous exercise for arms.
Method of storing the extra meat mixture for future use:
Meat mixture packed in Sandwich bags to be stored frozen for later use
I often prepare the meat mixture for Shaami/Shikampur and Kofta in bulk at a time. Once the mixture is cool enough to handle, store the extra amount in ziplock sandwich bags. Stack them up and freeze for future use. When you feel like having it, take a few sandwich bags out of the freezer and keep them on the countertop until they defrost to room temperature. Shape them into Shaami or Shikampur or Kofta and shallow fry them to serve. It saves a lot of my time this way.
***
To prepare Shaami:
1. Wash your hands clean. Take a small amount of cool water/oil into a cup. Take the above prepared meat mixture, the size of a golf ball into your hands. Dipping your right hand fingertips into the water, shape the mixture into a oblong diamond shaped Shaami(as shown in the picture above). Keep aside. Continue preparing Shaami until you get the number of Shaami you need.
2. In a small frying pan at medium high heat, pour little oil and shallow fry the Shaami until crisp dark brown on each side. Shallow fry them in batches and serve warm.
***
To prepare Shikampur:
1. Finely chop 1 medium onion, 1 tbsp fresh cilantro, 1 tbsp fresh mint leaves, and 4 small green chillies. Add 2 tbsp hung thick yogurt and salt to taste. Mix well. This is the yogurt relish. (Prepare more of this if you are planning to make many Shikampur for a large crowd)
2.Wash your hands clean. Take a small amount of cool water/oil into a cup. Take the above prepared meat mixture, the size of a golf ball into your hands. Make a well in the centre and add about a tablespoon of the relish prepared in the above step. Working gently with your hands, bring the edges together and cover the filling properly to shape into a flattened patty(as shown in the picture above).
3. In a small frying pan at medium high heat, pour little oil and shallow fry the Shikampur until crisp dark brown on each side. Shallow fry them in batches and serve warm.
***
To prepare Kofta:
1. Wash your hands clean. Take a small amount of cool water/oil into a cup. Take the above prepared meat mixture, the size of a golf ball into your hands. Wetting your palms with little water, shape the mixture into smooth balls and keep aside. Continue preparing the koftas until you get the number you need.
2. In a small frying pan at medium high heat, pour little oil and shallow fry the kofta’s, a few at a time, until crisp dark brown on their sides.
(Note: Koftas prepared this way are used in Kofte Ka Qorma)
***
You can also prepare Nagrisi Koftey using this same meat mixture.
Tip: If you feel like the meat mixture you have prepared for shaami, shikampur or kofta is very loose and not tight enough to hold a shape, dry roast about 2 tbsp or more of gram flour/besan for a few seconds, and once cool add it to the meat mixture. Mix well and you will now be able to shape it better. Add more if you require.
Luv,
Mona
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January 15th, 2009 at 7:41 pm
Yummy.. !! I have deep fried and baked Koftas.. never shallow fried.. Will try that next time..
January 16th, 2009 at 8:58 am
Hey Mona, that ziplock back is a great idea! Thanks for sharing. I usually freeze in a different way; I make the patties and layer them up in a container, separated by sheets of foil.
However, I definitely like your idea better!
January 16th, 2009 at 9:51 am
Woww yummyyyyy!!!pics makes me hungry..
January 16th, 2009 at 11:42 pm
great……..i had an idea….what about baking them with just a dab of oil on both faces, in a pre- heated oven?
will they turn out right?
Amarnath, I use very little amount of Canola oil while I shallow fry them. You can however try broiling them both sides, or baking them if you wish. I have not tried it yet. ~Mona
January 17th, 2009 at 11:41 am
hi, i think it wud be unfair and unjust towards the recipe if i dont say anything about it. i simply wud like like to say – excellent! thanks for such authentic and exotic recipe.
January 17th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
Salam Mona dear,
how are you?
hey, this looks really interesting, wondering when shall I get a chance to be your guest.. ? :))
January 17th, 2009 at 2:30 pm
Delicious , Mona ! And I love the idea of packing away the meat mixture in ziplock bags for future use.
January 18th, 2009 at 10:19 am
Wonderful post Mona all the kebabs look amazing and so authentic. Lucky you to get these kebabs frozen from your mother. 🙂
Jeena, my mother ‘used to’ send them to me when I was in college, away from my home. Now I prepare and store these kawabs on my own.. ~Mona
January 18th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
Very interesting Mona. I’ve been calling Shikampurs Shammis until now… oops.
January 21st, 2009 at 11:00 am
thanks mona
its really gr8 recipy and thanks for sharing the idea of storage in ziplock bags.i am your gr8 food fan
January 22nd, 2009 at 8:06 pm
Mouthwatering! you made them so perfectly just like ammi.
January 23rd, 2009 at 11:21 pm
it’s incredible how much this is similar to Middle Eastern food – very cool 🙂
I just found your site through kate (aaplemint), great blog!
January 24th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
I love these, I like the idea of having extra around… Then on busy nights I can still make something delicious!
February 2nd, 2009 at 10:07 pm
Hi Mona,
Just found your website and I just can’t wait to try all your recipes. Although in this particular recipe, I noticed that in the ing you have mentioned 1 cup channa dal, I don’t see you use it in the method. Is this an error?. Please confirem as I plan to try this recipe this weekend.Thank you.
Sangeetha.
Sangeetha, under ‘Method’ the second line in my instructions says to add ‘dal’, although I have not specifically mentioned it as chana dal. I think this confused you. For your conveniece I’ll edit it later on. ~Mona
March 20th, 2009 at 10:07 am
Thanks Mona,
I tried this recipe out and it tastes very authentic. We make shaamis at home but somehow it always turns very dry.This was perfect, had a melt in the mouth texture. Thanks again!
June 24th, 2009 at 6:28 am
Love ur site n all the recipes … kept drooling over the pictures ….. want to try this recipe with chicken as hubby does not eat lamb meat or any other meat … will the measurements still b same or will there b any difference … pls lemme know … thanx in advance 🙂
Mamata
September 16th, 2009 at 6:22 am
hey mona…im plannin on making this for a party of ten tom. will the measurements u ve given above be sufficient ?? exactly how many kebabs will i get from 700 gms of meat???
Ninu, the number of shaami or shikampur or kofta that you can prepare of the above measurements totally depends on the way you prepare it, and the also on the exact size of each you are maintaining. Hence it is very unpredictable to mention. However I suggest you to go ahead and prepare using the measurements given above and whatever left-over you have, you can freeze them for later use before you shallow fry. Hope this helps. ~Mona
November 30th, 2009 at 8:58 am
hi mona..hope u doin gud…after a gap of i think 7-8 months of cooking it was like i forgot soo many recipes…was browsing thru ur website and planning to make shaamis today…looks yummy
u tc
February 13th, 2010 at 3:03 pm
Mona, you were right. Hyderabadi Shaami and Azerbaijani Shami have so much in common. I am beginning to think of the same origin. How interesting!
February 24th, 2010 at 4:05 am
dear mona assalamalaiykum.u r too sweet.i have seen ur receipy of fish mahakhaliya .it seems nice.u have explained the method so nicely that automatically my heart and my tounge made dua for ur good life for here and here after aamin.
WaAlaiKumAsSalaam Reshma, Jazakallahu Khairun for all the lovely words, appreciation and the dua’s. ~Mona
May 21st, 2010 at 11:36 am
I am making these kebabs soon…courtesy your wonderful recipe here. You mention pressure cooking the mince. Can it be done on the stove- top? Waiting earnestly for your reply…my best wishes.
Amarnath, you can cook the mince in a pressure cooker on stove top.
August 27th, 2010 at 11:29 am
Hi,
Love your website. Can you please list approximate servings for your recipes if possible? It would help me when cooking for a crowd. Thanks!
Shahnaz, Inshallah will do.
December 24th, 2010 at 5:41 pm
ASA Mona,
I hope you will be able to reply to my message. I haven’t tried any of your recipes, but I heard from a friend that they’re great. iA, I will be trying kaddu ki kheer this weekend.
Anyway, for this recipe, the amount of chili peppers (red powder, serrano and thai) seem like it will be too much. When I make normal shaamis, I usually add like only 2 serrano peppers and your recipe calls for 12! How is this possible. Sounds toooo spicy. Please clarify.
JAK for sharing all these recipes.
Aisha
WaAlaiKumAsSalaam Aisha, the amount of seasonings that I use in my recipes are according to the preferences at my home. You can always alter the amount as you please. I recommend that you lessen the amount of green chillies being used if you want, but use both red chilli powder as well as green chillies, as the green chillies add a delicious flavor to the end product.
January 9th, 2011 at 6:07 pm
Assalamu Alaikum Mona,
You can also shape the shaamis, shikampur, kofte and freeze them on flat baking trays, then transfer it to ziplocs when they are completely frozen. that way you will have already made patties and you just have to fry them when you want them. it comes in handy especially when you dont have time to defrost the whole bag!
WaAlaiKumAsSalaam Mariyam, Jazakallahu Khair for the tip.
April 19th, 2013 at 7:19 pm
How to make this with beef
June 22nd, 2013 at 5:54 pm
Mona, I really love you, 3 pics of shaami guides to what extent you cant even imagine, tons of thanks
June 25th, 2013 at 4:20 pm
[…] Zeenath on Shaami, Shikampur aur Kofte […]
May 15th, 2014 at 3:44 am
Asak
Thanks for your shares.
What about adding paste of khopra, kaju and khashkhash?
June 7th, 2014 at 1:06 pm
Can this be made using beef mince or chicken mince? Also, since you are in Toronto, do you mind sharing what brand grinder do you use, where did you purchase (canadian tire?).