Topic: Home Tandoor Tips

[mickdabass]

The following photos are for educational purposes only. They are not intended to promote my "Culinary Prowess" but are just an honest account of a random person trying to cook Indian food and having fun  ;D



Thought Id made a tidy job of these. That lid is of a Rajah Minced Garlic Jar to give you some idea of scale CA's Bastardised  Keema mince with 2 dsp rajah tandoori massala in stead of the other massala, 4 Tbsp Gram flour + 2 Tbsp breadcrumbs  (sorry CA)




So far so good


About 3 out of 4 min cooking time and starting to slip down the skewer



The end results - dont they look just like a collection of cremated dog turds? cooking time varied from 3 - 4 mins. Tasted really good tho

[Razor]

Hi Mick,

Don't really know what to say mate

They certainly look right before they go in.  I have always wondered how seekh kebabs, made in a tandoor, don't burn at the end closest to the heat, well, the ones in TA's and BIR's lol.

Do you think that the tandoor maybe too hot?  How long are they?, the kebabs that is.  I have noticed that in many TA's, the keema is sat quite high up the skewer!

Maybe they're just too close to the heat or the heat is too high.  Possibly a combination of both?

Sorry not to be of much help.

Ray

[mickdabass]

Perhaps the lamb wasn't lean enough?
Or perhaps i hadn't kneeded the mixture for long enough?
Don't think its either of these. I am hoping your earlier suggestion with the cold wet hands will do the trick. Have to wait for the weekend to find out

[Curry Barking Mad]

Hi Mick,
A few things spring to mind mate.
My local uses double minced sheep leg, it is very lean, hardly any visible fat. Too much fat content will cause the meat to sag once it is subjected to the heat. (that sounds familiar) ;D
Once they have made up the mix it is fridged. The chef makes up a batch of keema at lunchtime for that nights opening.
The tandoor does not have to be fiercely hot.
Also you could angle your skewers to put slightly less gravitational pressure on the meat, if you follow me.
I know this isn't sheek kebabs but you may get the idea with this chicken tikka and lamb tikka.

[Peripatetic Phil]

"Double-minced", as AchMal suggests, may well help, and possibly even running it through a food processor to get an even finer texture (or buy yourself a pair of Chinese cleavers and mince it as the Chinese chefs mince pork for siu mai and the like).

** Phil.

[mickdabass]

Hey Achmal and Phil
I think you could be onto something.
Hopefully i will give it another whirl at the weekend  ;D

[Panpot]

Guys, this thread is why I love the site and will sneak a few minutes to  as often as I can. Fantastic stuff and great inspiration keeping us dreaming on even if we think we have cracked it there is always another hill to tackle. Thanks PP

[Razor]

Hi Mick,

Although I don't state it in the method for my own seekh kebabs, as Phil suggests, I also run my mince through the food processor!

Basically I do the following:

All the food processor, blitz the breadcrumbs,
Add the fresh coriander and blitz
Add the mince, spices, kashmiri masala, egg, garlic and ginger, and food colouring (if using), then blitz until all the ingredients are combined and the keema starts to form a ball in the food processor.

Then I refridgerate it for at least an hour before I shape them on my skewers.

Try that mate, works for me.

Also, I have my best results when I buy my minced lamb from Asda rather than the butchers?  I have no idea why but I'm thinking the opposite of the guys!  It could be because it's 'less' lean?

Ray

[Curry Barking Mad]

Hi Ray,
The addition of the breadcrumbs would certainly remove the requirement for the meat to be so lean due to the drying nature of the bread crumbs..
I know that that may help us home cooks but I have never seen breadcrumbs added to a takeaway or restaurant sheek kebab.
Regards,
Mick

[Peripatetic Phil]

I have my best results when I buy my minced lamb from Asda rather than the butchers?  I have no idea why but I'm thinking the opposite of the guys!  It could be because it's 'less' lean?

Yogi Gupta recommends at least 10% fat, but that is on the basis of flavour rather than "sticktion" :

Step 1: Choose Meat
You can choose any type of meat you like from beef, lamb, mutton, goat, pork, or chicken. You can also choose Games such as Deer, Rabbit. For flavor, the meat should have a minimum of 10% fat.  You can buy the muscle meat and use Food Processor in pulse mode to grind the meat, or you can buy meat that is already ground.

P.S. He also writes :

In India, the most common binders are Chickpea flour (Besan), or Corn Starch (Makki Atta).

** Phil.