I bet you think that kebabs come in chunks on a skewer, right? Well no.
Often they do (and that’s when they are called şiş kebab as şiş (pron: shish) means skewer) but they also come in other forms: the meat can either be minced and moulded onto special long flat-bladed skewers.Or it can be like this, small pieces cooked gently with a few other ingredients and for quite a long time on the hob till tender and the full flavour has developed.
Or it can be like this, small pieces cooked gently with a few other ingredients and for quite a long time on the hob till tender and the full flavour has developed.
Ensuing cooking smells guaranteed to make your mouth water!
This way of cooking those small pieces of meat – kuşbaşı/literally birds’ heads – is very different from the way we would normally handle stewing steak for a casserole.
We would take small amounts and brown them on all sides and then transfer to a plate till all was done and then we would replace them all in the casserole dish. Quite a painstaking task.
The Turkish way is simplicity itself: it takes a bit of time but is certainly not difficult. All the meat is cooked at the same time with onion and then tomatoes. No fancy ingredients here.
The final outcome is amazingly delicious: moist, tender, and above all tasty.
It’s an ideal dinner party dish as you can make it the day before – I like dishes like this! – and the tastes mingle to their hearts’ content.
- Chop the onions finely. Peel the 2 tomatoes, remove the seeds, and chop the pulp into cubes.
- Heat the cooking oil in an open pan and add all the meat in one go. Cook gently until all the juice has run out and then been reabsorbed. This will take about 40 mins.
- At that point add the chopped onions to the pan and cook till they soften and change colour.
- Add the salt and pepper and then the chopped tomatoes and hot water. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 50 mins on a gentle flame.
I found that my tomatoes were very juicy so I only added 2 cups of hot water. Use your own judgment.
It shouldn’t be too watery at the end of cooking. If it is, continue cooking till more liquid has evaporated.
I also thought that 500g meat would be too little so increased it to 750g which was perfect. And this was for 4! There was just a little left over which is always a good sign.
The final touch is a handful of chopped parsley scattered over the meat which you have spread over the top of the rice or bulgur in a large serving dish.
Have you ever substituted lamb for beef in this recipe? I think it might work-
this really looks good!
I love it;)) It looks so succulent on a bed of fantastic looking rice;))
I think lamb would work perfectly too, Betsy.
Nice to hear from you,October Farm and Dzoli!
Another mouthwatering temptation! Thank you x