Indian Lamb Kebabs (Shami)

While many people likely think of "kebabs" (also spelled "kabobs" and "kababs") as being on skewers, they don't really have to be. These are delicate lamb patties with great flavor. Recipes vary somewhat, with the "bean" component sometimes being chickpeas, some type of lentil, or mung beans, with the latter being my choice for this dish. I've seen a recipe or two without any bean component. Beef is also used, but remember, practicing Hindus do not eat beef, but the substantial Muslim population of the Indian subcontinent does eat beef, and from what I understand, these kebabs are often made with beef in Muslim-majority Bangladesh, where they are very popular. Since the ingredients will be put into a food processor, it is not really necessary to finely chop everything. 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds ground lamb
1 or 2 tablespoon oil or clarified butter (ghee)
1/2 cup yellow lentils or split mung/gram beans
water for cooking (about 1 1/2 cups, but whatever is needed)
1 cup chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1  2 inch piece of ginger, chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2/3 teaspoon turmeric
3 green chilies, chopped (jalapeño or serrano chilies are fine)
1/4 cup mint leaves, roughly torn or chopped
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (also called fresh coriander or green coriander)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 to 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (according to your preference for heat)
2 teaspoons garam masala
lime wedges, onion cut into rings, mint chutney

Soak the beans for 20 to 30 minutes. Rinse. In a pan, add 1 or 2 tablespoons oil or clarified butter and heat over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, saute for 1-2 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger, stir well, then add the ground cumin, turmeric, green chilies and mint, saute about 1 minute. Add the beans or lentils, and add water to just cover. Turn down heat to medium low and cook at a gentle simmer until the beans/lentils are tender and the water is essentially gone. Let mixture cool a bit, then put it into a food processor. Add lamb, 1/4 cup cilantro, salt, cayenne pepper and garam masala. Process until all is well mixed and fine. Mix in the 2 tablespoons cilantro, but do not use the processor, so that it remains in larger pieces. Heat oven to 350 (F). Form the mixture into patties. Place patties on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Bake patties for 45 to 55 minutes. If you want the patties a little crisp, pour off any grease and then place them under the broiler for about 45 seconds to a minute on each side. Often served with lime wedges, raw onion rings and/or mint chutney,* but accompaniments vary, often regionally. 

* You can find mint chutney in many supermarkets, but definitely in Indian/Pakistani grocery stores, or you can make your own. Here is the link to my recipe for mint chutney, which is very easy:  http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2017/07/indian-mint-chutney.html

WORD HISTORY: 
-stan-This is the word forming element for geographical entities, like "Pakistan." It goes back to Indo European "sta/steh," which had the notion of "stand, set in place." It is related to a large number of both original English words from Germanic like, "stand" and "stead," as well as borrowed words like, "stay." It is related to German "Stadt," originally meaning, "place," and then "city." The Indo European root produced Indo Iranian "sthanha," which meant, "place where one stands;" thus also, "where one dwells." This passed to Persian as, "stana," and to Sanskrit as "sthana," and eventually was used in Urdu and Hindi in India well before Pakistan and India separated. The meaning came to extend more directly to "place of," "home of" or "homeland of." Exactly when the term started to be added as a suffix to form geographic descriptions is unclear to me, but such are numerous: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Baluchistan (also spelled Balochistan), Uzbekistan, Hindustan and others.