Masterchef contestant Rashedul Hasan’s Galawati Kabab recipe

Ever wanted to make a Kabab that just melts in your mouth? Search no more. This special Lucknowi Kabab is super soft, smokey and full of shahi flavours. 

Lucknow is famous for its connection to Mughal Kitchen and Kababs are an integral part of it. Braving the test of time, the city still manages to preserve its rich royal heritage be it through its architecture, literature, 'khatirdari' (hospitality) or food. The rich Mughlai cuisine with aromatic spices is a major contributor to the city's old-world charm.

The story goes that the Lucknow Nawab became quite old but his penchant for kebabs was far from dying. So for their struggling Nawab, the seasoned khansamas came up with a popular Kabab variant called Galawati Kabab (Galawat means melting) which needed no chewing yet had the same rich flavours and taste of a kebab.

This recipe comes right in time for Qurbani Eid, enjoy!

Preparation 30 Minutes

Marinate 2 hours (min)

Cooking 20 Minutes

Serves 4

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1 tsp Black Peppercorns

1/2 tsp Allspice / Kabab Chini 

1 tsp Shahi Jira / Black Cumin Seeds

5 Cloves

5 Green Cardamoms 

1 Black Cardamom

1 tbsp Dry Rose Petals

¼ tsp Small Nutmeg

a pinch of saffron

1-inch Cinnamon

1-2 Wild berries

1-star anise 

2 bay leaf 

1 Mace

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500 gm minced Beef / Lamb

1 tbsp brown onion paste

1 tbsp cashew paste  

2 tbsp ghee 

Salt, to taste

1 tbsp ginger garlic juice 

11/2 tbsp Raw Papaya (skin on), paste 

1 tbsp prepared Galawati spice mix

1 tsp Rose Water

1 tsp red chilli 

sprinkles of Ghee 

sprinkles of milk

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Coal 

1 tbsp ghee and oil mix

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Parathas  

Onion pickles 

Green Chilli 

1 Lemon, cut into wedges 

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Heat a pan on medium-low flame. Add all the spices except rose petals and saffron. 

Dry fry till light smoke starts to form. Let the spices cool down completely. Grind the spices to a fine powder.  Add rose petals and saffron, grind for a few more seconds.

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In a flat mixing plate combine minced meat, raw papaya paste, brown onion paste, cashew paste and ghee really well. 

Then add Galawati spice mix and red chilli paste and mix well. 

Then add ginger garlic water and milk to loosen up the meat. Finish by mixing in salt, rosewater and a pinch of saffron.

Let the meat marinate for a minimum of 2 hours or preferably overnight in the refrigerator.

Take the meat out of the refrigerator. Smoke the meat using coal and ghee oil mixture (as per video)

For shallow frying take a flat pan, heat ghee on medium heat. 

Wet your hands with water and take a portion of the meat mixture and directly place it on the pan with a slapping motion. Shape them in the pan if required.

Fry in medium-low heat till a golden crust is formed on one side. Sprinkle little milk on top, turn the Kababs and keep frying till golden on the other side. Handle with care as the Kababs are really soft.  When done, move the kebabs directly to a serving dish.

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Arrange kebabs on a dish and serve with pickled onions and green chilli. 

Best with Porota (Paratha) but also great with Naan bread.