Once, I took my family on a trip to Russia. Ten days, ten cities — we covered a lot of ground.
Day nine caught us in Saint Petersburg where we appropriately arrived on a 5 AM train like true Muscovites. IYKYK.
By 2 PM, we covered a monastery, three cathedrals, two museums, a few castles, a ballet school, two parks, a memorial field, a bunch of bridges, all four channels, the entire Nevsky Prospect from Alexander to Peter, and crossed over to Vassilievsky Island. On foot. All of it.
Seeing beds, my three companions passed out. What did I do? I went downstairs to a Georgian restaurant. What did I have? Lamb lyulyua kebob with Satsebeli sauce. Waitstaff watched with admiration how I cleaned up a shareable platter on one breath.
Here’s more remembrance of things past and another successful recreation:
LAMB LYULYUA KEBABS:
— 2 lb ground lamb with a serious amount of fat (20% at least);
— 1 large onion, grated;
— 3 garlic cloves, chopped;
— 1/3 cup of cold water;
— 1 tsp salt;
— 1 tsp black pepper;
— 1 tsp baking soda;
— 1 tsp hot paprika;
— 1 tsp cayenne;
— 1 tsp khmeli-suneli;
— 1 tsp utzkho-suneli;
— handful of cilantro, chopped;
— handful of parsley leaves, chopped ;
— handful of mint, chopped;
— 1 tsp cumin seeds;
— 1 tsp coriander seeds;
— 1 tsp fenugreek seeds;
— 1 tsp fennel seeds;
— 1 tsp dill seeds.
Toast all the seeds on a dry pan and crush in a mortar. Do not pulverize, you want some crunch.
Combine other ingredients besides lamb and whiz them with an immersion blender. You want it liquidy. Mix in the seeds. Mix in lamb.
In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, on a low speed, beat the mixture to emulsify fat and liquid — no less than 2 minutes, no more than 3. Overdo and the fat will separate.
Make sausage shapes or stick the mix onto flat (! — important) skewers. Refrigerate for an hour or better overnight.
Grill on a mangal type fire, i.e. when meat is suspended and doesn’t touch the grate.
#food #cooking #grill #kabobs #georgianfood #mangal