Kabob, Hold the Shish

Kebab (Persian: كباب, also kebap, kabab, kebob, kabob, kibob, kebhav, kephav, qabab) is a wide variety of meat dishes originating in Persia, and now found worldwide. In English, kebab with no qualification generally refers more specifically to shish kebab served on the skewer or döner kebab served wrapped in bread with a salad and a dressing. In Iran(Persia), however, kebab includes grilled, roasted, and stewed dishes of large or small cuts of meat, or even ground meat; it may be served on plates, in sandwiches, or in bowls. The traditional meat for kebab is lamb, but depending on local tastes and taboos, it may now be beef, goat, chicken, pork; fish and seafood; or even vegetarian foods like falafel or tofu. Like other ethnic foods brought by travellers, the kebab has become part of everyday cuisine in multicultural countries around the globe.

When Nick came in for dinner last night and didn't see meat on a stick, he said, "I thought we were having kabobs?"  I told him we were, then read him the above paragraph.  Turns out, "kabob" is sort of the middle eastern version of milanese/chicken fried steak/schnitzel - many variations, basically the same thing.  Except not.  I'm not really sure I could tell you what makes last night's "kabob" similar to shish kabob, aside from the fact that meat was involved.  The spices are different, the prep and cooking were different...I'm really not sure what the "DNA" of kabobs are.

In any case, here's how it went:

 First, some shopping pictures.  I found grape leaves!  I found them in the Indian section of the "Shop the World" part of Hannaford.  Once again, I was spared from going into a real ethnic food market.  Buahaha.

 Also, I finally found phyllo dough.  Next to the puff pastry.  Duh.  Never thought to look there, and I've been literally 3 feet from it for weeks, every time I needed eggs.  Sigh.

 Using another wedding gadget - the Ninja blender/food processor.  I love that the motor is separate, and that I can use both choppers at once.  The blender was maybe not made for making beef paste, but it got the job done eventually. The red stuff on the left used to be a red pepper, like 3 second previous.  God I love food processors.

 Poor tomatoes didn't know what was coming.

 Everything in the blender, view one.

 Everything in the blender, view two.

 Eventually, it all came together.

 Next time you see this picture, don't think so badly of McD's.  Think badly of them for other reasons, but not for processing their meat.  We all do it. 

 Kini was being so good, just watching me cook.  She's been really sleepy lately...we think it's a growth spurt.  God help us all. 

 I ran out of space on the baking pan, so I tried frying a few patties.  They were ok, but I didn't know how long to cook them so they had a different texture and were really watery.  I could've left them alone for longer I suppose.

 The baking patties, after a few minutes (hence the puddles between patties).

 Fresh out of the oven.  They're not burnt, just...the stuff around them is a little.  Sort of.  I followed the directions though, I promise.

A bad picture of dinner.  Kabobs and Naan...not 100% Iraqi, but it's better than ciabatta, right?  Right.

Tonight, I have spin class after work and then I'm going to attempt stuffed grape leaves.  Wish me luck!