Well,I haven’t really made the veg version of Shami Kababs. For a non vegetarian, Shami kebabs is the ultimate form of kebabs, that which is moist, tender ,succulent, in short tender morsels of yummy meat. So not really needed to even try the veg version .

But yes, on days when you are in a dire state of having nothing in your kitchen arsenal to satiate your taste buds , and when monopolistic situation seeps in with the face of the same veggies and recipes, that’s when I make such wonders suddenly. A few minutes of pondering across the kitchen shelves and I usually come up with some new find or a regular recipe that i most often don’t make. They do come in handy. Like I always say, Indian cooking is magical, There is just so many varieties of recipes that can be invented and has been invented so far. According to the  regional cuisines, the same ingredients are used up to arrive at an wonderful recipe.Just about anything, any veggie or any type of lentils can be cooked up to form something new.

These kala chana kebabs, which  are of course not moist and tender like the original meat based shami kebabs but nothing less then a treat I must say.With the right kind of spices they are no less the their non veg counterparts and you wouldn’t know that they are made from kala chanas.

Kala chanas are, best used for making a curry or dry kala channa in India ,or perhaps a dry chaat across the north of the country. These kebabs are an extension and are savored as starters across restaurants. At your house events they would be the perfect supplement to your ever popular aloo tikkis or paneer pakoras.

For me the aloo tikkis or potato cutlets or crochets etc are the most popular since they are the easiest to make. They are instantly done in a jiffy. But if you have your chanas soaked overnight then these are as easy as anything else. Kala chana  anyway has a great texture and really needs no binding and not temperamental in handling them and easy to fry unlike so many other kebabs, esp paneer. Its so difficult to fry paneer based kebabs at times cos the binding is not correct and you need to add either bread crumbs or corn flour or flour or besan. Well, here although i have added a little besan, that also is not required.Just the masalas ,spices and the flavor of herbs and you r done.

Ingredients:

Kala chana soaked over night- 1 cup
Coriander leaves- few chopped
green chillies- 1 chopped
ginger garlic paste- 1/2 tsp
ginger juveniles- 1 tbsp
salt- as per taste
red chilli powder- 1/2 tsp or more if you wnat a spicy taste
chat masala- 1/2 tsp
garam masala-1/2 tsp
cumin powder- 1/2 tsp
coriander powder-1 tsp
black pepperr powder- 1/2 tsp
besan- 1 to 2 tbsp

Method:

• Soak the chanas overnight
• Drain and boil them in a pressure cooker
• Drain and keep it aside
• In a blender add the chanas and just blend it once so that it remains a little coarse.The texture needs to be coarse and not soft
• Now add salt, coriander powder, cumin powder, red chilli powder, garam masala powder, chat masala, 1 tbsp besan, ginger garlic paste, ginger juvelines, black pepper powder and coriander leaves and make into flat round patties
• Fry them under medium flame until they are browned on both sides