Shami Kabab Recipe (Vegetarian)

veg shammi kabab recipe, chana kabab recipe

4.64 from 11 votes

A vegetarian version of shami kabab made with black chickpeas, gram flour, onions, spices and herbs. They are crisp, succulent and tasty served with a side of green chutney, lemon wedges and onion slices.

Prep Time7

Cook Time30

Total Time7 30

Course: Snacks

Cuisine: Awadhi

Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Servings: Veg Shami Kabab

Calories: 95kcal

Author: Dassana Amit

Ingredients

For pressure cooking black chickpeas

1 cup dried black chickpeas
enough water for soaking black chickpeas
2 cups water or as required, for pressure cooking kala chana
½ teaspoon salt

Other ingredients

1 medium sized onion - finely chopped or minced
1 green chili , finely chopped
1 teaspoon Coriander Powder
½ teaspoon red chili powder
½ teaspoon Garam Masala
salt as required
3 to 4 tablespoons gram flour (besan) or add as required
½ tablespoon ginger paste
1 tablespoon coriander leaves , chopped
oil as required for frying the kababs

For garnishing

1 tablespoon chopped mint leaves or chopped coriander leaves

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preparation

First rinse black chickpeas a few times in fresh water.
In a bowl soak the black chickpeas in enough water overnight or for 8 to 9 hours.
Drain all the soaked water and then in a stovetop pressure cook the chickpeas with 2 cups water and ½ teaspoon salt for 10 to 15 minutes or till they are thoroughly cooked.
Let the pressure settle down on its own in the cooker and then only open the lid.
Check if the chickpeas are cooked well. If not cooked well, then pressure cook again for some more time.
Then drain all the water very well. Do make sure that the chickpeas are dry and all the water is drained from them.
In a large bowl or plate add the chickpeas and mash them with a vegetable masher or a wooden spoon.
Just make a semi coarse mixture and not too smooth.
Add the following ingredients - finely chopped onions, finely chopped green chili, coriander powder, red chili powder, garam masala powder, salt as required, gram flour, ginger paste and chopped coriander leaves.
Stir and mix very well.
Make into small round shaped kababs or patties.

Making Shami Kebab

Heat oil in a pan or skillet on a medium heat.
Shallow fry the kabab in medium hot oil till crisp and browned on both sides.
Once done, then drain the kababs on kitchen paper napkins to remove excess oil.
You can also bake the kababs with a drizzle of oil for a healthier version.
Garnish shami kabab with mint leaves or coriander leaves. Serve these shami kebab hot with onion-mint salad along with slices of lime and some mint chutney or coriander chutney.

Notes

You can also make the shami kabab with chana dal or both chana dal and black chickpeas.
You can use a blender or mixer-grinder to mash the chickpeas. Do not add any water if you grind the chickpeas in a mixer-grinder or blender. Blend in intervals of a few seconds to make a coarse mash.
When frying kabab, for testing first fry one kabab in the oil. If it doesn't break then you can safely fry the remaining kababs. If it does break, then add some more chickpea flour or gram flour to the mixture. Mix again and test.
Do not deep fry as they can break and fall apart while frying.
Ensure that you drain the water from the cooked black chickpeas very well. Any water or liquid will make the mixture pasty and you won't be able to easily shape the kabab.
You can adjust the spices and seasonings according to your taste preferences.
Instead of shallow frying you can also pan fry with less oil. Or for a more healthier version, you can bake or air fry these shami kabab. Brush some oil on them prior to baking or air frying.
For pan frying you can use any neutral flavored oil with high smoking point.
The approx nutrition info is for 1 shami kabab fried with ½ teaspoon of sunflower oil.

Nutrition