inspiration — palettes — method
Total Active Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Total Rest Time: 24 hours
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Prep: 60 minutes
Ingredients
Kababs
Meat:
1 & 1/2 lbs lamb stew meat
3 tbsp coriander
1 tsp kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
1 tsp nutmeg
pinch of hing
Vegetables:
1 & 1/2 cups red beefsteak tomatoes
1 cup green pepper
1/2 cup of red onion
1/3 cup okra
1/4 cup leek
Brine:
6 mundu chilis
1/2 cup olive oil
4 tbsp lemon vinegar
2 tbsp peppermint
2 tbsp cilantro
2 tbsp dill
2 tsp ginger root
4 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp black peppercorn
1/2 tsp kosher salt
Cheese:
7/8 cup paneer
1/3 cup and 2 tbsp unsalted pecans
3-4 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp rice flour
salt to taste*
Spiced Butter
6 green cardamom pods
1 ancho chili
1/2 red onion
1 cinnamon stick
6 tbsp butter
1 tbsp coriander
1 tbsp red chili powder
1 tsp black peppercorn
1/2 tsp ginger root
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground all spice
Cilantro Spearmint Green Chili Sauce
1 shallot
2 garlic cloves
2 long green chiles
3 vietnamese red chilis
1/2 yellow pepper
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 cup spearmint leaves
1/4 cup cilantro
3 tbsp lime juice
3 tsp smoked bourbon sugar
2 tsp cane sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
Painter’s Roomali Roti
1 cup water (60 F)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose white flour
1 tsp kosher salt
sunflower oil
& salt in water
Condiments:
with paprika* (garnish)
Method
Prep—
Kababs
Meat:
1. Prepare your spice palette board: Measure and place the following ingredients on a blank slab:
coriander
nutmeg
hing
pepper
kosher salt
2. Lay the lamb stew meat on a clean baking sheet and salt the meat. 3. Salt the pieces of meat lightly on all sides ensuring you reach the side laying directly atop the baking sheet. 4. Pepper the meat on all sides and then coat each piece of the meat in the coriander. 5. Add a gentle amount of nutmeg to both the bottom and top sides. Follow this with a pinch of hing.
4. Cover the baking sheet with a piece of plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to develop for twenty four hours.
Vegetables:
1. Prepare your vegetable palette
board:
Measure and slice the following vegetables into large chunks and place them on a blank slab:
tomato
onion
green pepper
okra
leek
Brine:
1. Prepare your spice palette board: Measure, chop and grind the following ingredients and place them on a blank slab:
mundu chilis
lemon (vinegar)
peppermint
cilantro
dill
ginger root
garlic cloves
black peppercorn
salt
2. In a food processor, add the olive oil, lemon vinegar, mundu chilis, cilantro, dill, ginger root, garlic cloves, peppercorn and salt. Blend. 3. Pour the mixture into a clean medium sized mixing bowl and add the vegetables to soak.
4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the vegetables soak in the brine for five hours.
Cheese:
1. Place the cheese onto a blank slab and add the rice flour to the cheese. Mix the flour into the cheese using your hands. Add salt to taste.
2. Wrap the cheese in a clean towel and fold the towel over the cheese into a square. Press the towel into the top of the cheese with your hands and some force until the cheese stretches to the corners of the cloth. Place a heavy plate over the cloth for five minutes to solidify the newly formed rectangular shape.
3. Let rest in the refrigerator for at least thirty minutes.
4. In a clean small bowl, add the maple syrup.
5. Grind the pecans in a food processor and grind until fine. Place on an empty plate.
6. Remove the cheese from the refrigerator and cut the cheese into 1 1/2 inch by 1 1/2 inch squares.
7. One by one, submerge each of the cheese squares in the maple syrup.
8. Place each piece of cheese into the ground pecans and cover each side flipping each piece until fully breaded.
9. Place plastic wrap over the plate of cheese squares and let rest in the refrigerator.
10. Add the cheese squares to the vegetables in brine, recover the bowl with plastic wrap and continue to let soak for one additional hour.
Kababs
1. When the meat has completed its twenty-four hour resting cycle, it is time to skewer. For each of the skewers, place two pieces of meat, and a medley of the brined vegetables and cheese to your liking on each wooden or metal skewer ensuring an equal balance of pieces for each of the skewers between the cheese squares, vegetables and meat. 2. Wrap each skewer in tin foil and place them back into the refrigerator until one hour before grilling when you will want to remove them from the refrigerator and let them rest at room temperature. If grilling directly after skewering, let the meat rest for thirty to forty five minutes after building the skewers depending on how long it took you to complete the skewering. **Generally, you want to let the red meat rest for one hour at room temperature before changing it through the magic of heat for optimum flavor.**
Spiced Butter
1. Prepare your spice palette board: Measure, chop and grind the following ingredients and place them on a blank slab:
green cardamom pods
ancho chili
red onion
cinnamon stick
coriander
red chili powder
black peppercorn
ginger root
nutmeg
ground all spice
2. In a food processor, grind the green cardamom pods, ancho chili, red onion, cinnamon stick, coriander, red chili powder, black peppercorn, ginger root, nutmeg and ground all spice together into a rough paste.
3. Place in an air tight container and set aside.
Cilantro Spearmint Green Chili Sauce
1. Prepare your palette board: Measure, grind and chop the following ingredients and place them on a blank slab:
shallot
garlic cloves
long green chiles
vietnamese red chilis
yellow pepper
unsweetened coconut milk
spearmint leaves
cilantro
lime juice
smoked bourbon sugar
cane sugar
salt
2. In a food processor, add the ingredients and blend to a consistency of your liking. 3. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Painter’s Roomali Roti
1. Prepare your palette board: Measure the following ingredients and place them on a blank slab:
all-purpose white flour
whole wheat flour
salt
sunflower oil
2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add the flours, salt and water. Using your hands, mix the ingredients together into a well-formed dough ball. Cover the ball with a cloth and let rest for thirty minutes to one hour at room temperature.
3. Place a portion of the dough ball about one half the size of your palm onto a well-floured surface.
4. Using a thin roller, roll the small portion into a shape of your choice and as thin as you possibly can without tearing the dough.
5. Repeat this until all dough is rolled into thin irregular sheets.
6. Place on a well-floured baking sheet covered with a towel. 7. Maintain in the refrigerator until one hour before applying heat.
Heat—
Kababs
1. Prepare your charcoal grill: Light a chimney starter filled with two-thirds of charcoals for a medium-high heat. Place the charcoals onto the charcoal grate of the grill in one layer.
2. Place the grill grate on top followed by the grill lid and let sit for five minutes to fully heat. 3. Just before placing the kababs on the grill rack, brush a napkin with oil over the charcoals.
4. Grill the kababs: Place the kababs directly over the single layer of charcoal on the hot side of the grill and let cook for five minutes or until seared. Flip the kababs on all sides and cook for an additional five minutes until each side is evenly seared. For a medium-rare heat, measure the temperature of the thickest part of the meat to one hundred twenty-five degrees F, five degrees less for a rarer cook, and five to ten degrees more for a well-done medium heat at one hundred thirty degrees F. 5. If more cooking time is needed, move the kababs to the part of the grill with no coals and contain with the lid shut and air holes closed to ensure a cooled temperature heat for an additional two minutes or to taste
6. Remove from the grill and let rest for ten minutes before serving.
Painter’s Roomali Roti
1. Place a skillet over medium-high heat for sixty seconds. Flip the skillet over on its belly so that it is inverted and place it over the heat. 2. Mix 2 tsp salt for one cup of warm water. Using a brush, splash dashes of salt water onto the back of the skillet.
3. Take one irregular shaped piece of dough and brush one side of it with oil. 4. Place it on the hot skillet and let it cook on medium-high heat for two to three minutes watching for air bubble formation.
5. Using a spatula, gently press the air bubbles down into the hot skillet as they formulate to create darkened portions of the bread. 6. Flip the dough onto its other side and repeat the process allowing for it to cook for an additional two to three minutes or until air bubbles begin to form and press them down once more one by one with a spatula. 7. Remove the bread from heat and contain it to maintain its warmth and texture until ready to eat. 8. Repeat the process until all dough has been transformed ensuring that the completed bread is maintained in a contained warm and dry space such as on a plate covered with a cloth in an unheated oven.
Spiced Butter
1. Melt the butter: in a small saucepan, add the butter over a simmer until liquidated. 2. Add three tbsp of the spice mix that was set aside to the butter or the amount that you choose to your taste and combine the butter and spice together with a spoon.
3. Add one and one-half tbsp of brown sugar or the amount that you choose to your taste and mix the butter, spice and sugar together. 4. Pour into a small serving bowl and garnish with paprika to taste.
Taste and Enjoy!
Color to the Method—
Music to the Method—
C. Goulding: Theme on a Somalian Tribal Chant
Comments