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Photo: Anu Pushkarna

Delicious Chef Rakesh Kumar puts the finishing touches to a dish of Kakori Kabab at Crowne Plaza.

But today I realise that that chef wasn’t even an expert! That chef he didn’t tell me that the meat should be ideally the backbone meat. He never mentioned that brown onion paste is needed. He just emptied the garam masala packet. He didn’t know that it had to be cumin dominated. All the ingredients weren’t even minced, but they were chopped. And the worse thing, he used bread crumbs to bind the kabab.

But today the generations have changed. Chefs used to be secretive. Now everyone is educated and has degrees. They aren’t possessive about information.

Kakori kabab is like the king of kababs. It is special because it is really tender. It is the tenderest kabab. You don’t even need to chew it. If I could I would change the name to malai kabab. You don’t need teeth for it. It is one of the most popular kababs.

Like all kababs, it originated in Lucknow as part of the royal cuisine. The important aspect is that all the ingredients have to be minced, not chopped. Cumin is the aromatic ingredient. It should not be roasted cumin because then it will get burnt in the cooking process. It is different from other kababs since it is not made in a tandoor, but on an open fire. It can’t be made in a tandoor as then all the meat would simply slip away!

It takes only four to five minutes to cook. But it also depends on the temperature of the stove. When it is being cooked, it is brushed with garlic oil. Why? That is for the aroma. There are things in cooking, which seem simple but are very important.

The secret is the different ratios of garam masalas. Also the meat must be very lean and needs to be minced three to four times. It has to be a smooth paste. Also putting it on a skewer requires a tender hand. It is a skill that comes with practice. If you put too much meat on the skewer the insides will remain raw and the outside will get burnt. If you put too little it will not even be bite size.

I have learnt all this from experience. But also have learnt a lot from seminars.

I have very happy memories of this restaurant. It is at Seven that I made a 40 foot kabab which got me a place in the Limca Book of Records.

2 cups lamb loin mince (fine)

2 tbsp raw papaya paste

1 tsp ginger paste

1 tsp garlic paste

1 tbsp brown onion paste

1 tbsp cashewnut paste

1 pinch mace powder

1/2 tsp small cardomum powder

1 pinch nutmeg powder

1 pinch cloves powder

2 pinch cumin powder

Salt to taste

1/2tsp Deghi mirch powder

1 tsp saffron milk

Oil for basting

Take a clean bowl. Add all the ingredients together and mix well, rubbing the mix with palms, smoothening the mixture. Keep aside refrigerated for at least two hours.

Remove from refrigerator and bring it to room temperature.

Take a skewer and apply fistful of mixture on the skewer, this will require skill and practice, wetting your hands in-between helps! Place each skewer gently on the sigdi, medium heated fire and cook, rotating the skewer frequently but gently. When half done then apply a coating of oil and continue cooking. Remove when done Skewer it gently and serve hot with onion rings, green salad and mint chutney.

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