Shami Kebab

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A Shami Kebab (Urdu: شامی کباب, Hindi: शामी कबाब, ) or Shami Tikka (Urdu: شامی تکہ, Hindi: शामी टिक्का) is a small patty of minced beef, mutton or chicken ground chickpeas and spices.

Shami kebabs are an extremely popular snack in Pakistan and India. They are often garnished with lemon juice and/or sliced raw onions, and are usually eaten with chutney made from mint or coriander. They are also served along with Sheer Qorma on Muslim Eid Days.

A variation of Shami Kebab is found in Bangladeshi cuisine. The recipe is almost the same but it tastes different from the original version. Beef Shami Kebab is the most popular.

[edit] History

The Shami Kabab literally means Syrian Kabab in Urdu, Persian and Arabic. These were introduced to South Asia during the Mughal era by Muslim emigrants from the Middle East. They had employed cooks from all over the Muslim world to serve in the royal kitchens. Some of the cooks were from Syria as well. The Sham refers to either Syria specifically or the Levant in general, and these kebabs literally means Syrian kebabs or Levantine kebabs in Arabic.

While in India, the word Sham is evening in Hindi ^[1] and Urdu^[2] and sham-e-Awadh, evening in Lucknow of yore ^[3]. A parochial perfumer from Kannauj offered an explanation linking the spices used with the seductive whiff of an Atr called Shamama.^[3]. It has been strongly argued that it cannot be after the Hindi word Sham which means evening because of the fact that most Hindus are vegetarians and all avoid eating beef which is the main ingredient of the Shami Kebab.

[edit] In popular culture

Shami kebabs were immortalised in Grant Naylor's science fiction series Red Dwarf, where character David Lister was nearly killed by an alien masquerading as his favourite supper.