Beef Shami Kebab's, Mummy's way

Ingredients:1kg lean beef mince2 cups channa daal (soaked in water prior to cooking for 30 mins)2 medium onions, peeled and cut roughly into 4 pieces each3-4 cloves of garlic, peeled and kept whole1 long cinnamon quill10-15 black peppercorns6-8 cardamom pods, bruised1 whole star anise1 tbsp each of whole coriander seeds and cumin seeds1 dry red chilli2 bay leavesSalt to taste2 medium tomatoes, cut into 4 pieces each1 1/2 inch of ginger, peeled1 egg, beatenWater1 small bunch of coriander leaves, 1/2 bunch of mint leaves and 2 green chillies, de-seeded if preferredMakes up to 3 dozen kebabs. Takes about 1 hour 30 minutes to prepare

The sizzling of Shami kebabs in the frying pan as I walked through the door from work was the smell I loved being greeted with. This is a recipe I grew up with, my mom almost always had a huge supply of Shami's  in the freezer, they freeze beautifully and can be defrosted for about 20 minutes (don't entirely defrost, as they tend to fall apart - fry on low heat) - best eaten with  the famous Pakistani fiery chilli garlic sauce  (Mitchell's Chilli Garlic see the clip for the 'real' experience) which can now be bought in foil packs, but nothing beat the struggle of getting it out of a glass bottle -  anyway, slap any chilli sauce if Mitchell's is not available, slap into some freshly  toasted bread with a smothering of butter, harrisa paste and some rocket (arugula) - this makes the best sandwich ever.Shami kebabs are worth a patience you'll go through the trouble to prepare them and think of it this way, you will have something protein based, in your freezer ready to do within a few minutes when you get home shattered.Every home in Pakistan has their own version, but here is my mom's - I think they're the best, not hot, just gently fragrant with an expression of every spice added in the recipe - each them in a sandwich, with a rice and daal, or just on their own.1. Place all the ingredients in a large saucepan with a lid, save for the egg, ginger, coriander and mint leaves and green chilli. Add enough water to cover the contents and cook on medium heat until all the water runs dry – this is very important, you need to be left with an extremely dry cooked mince, keep stirring if required. May take up to 30 – 40 minutes.2. Once the mixture is bone dry, take out the solid spices and blend mince into a smooth paste with the ginger until everything is blended. Now add in the beaten egg, and blend further. Finely add finely chopped coriander, chilli and mint.3. Now to make the Shami kebabs:  Take a bit of the mince mould into a ball then flatten into the shape seen in the picture. Then heat oil in a shallow pan and fry the kebabs until browned on each side.  (Tip: If the mince covering on the egg starts to break, lightly cover with flour before frying)