Shami Kabab – Instant Pot
This is one of my favorite freezer meals that you can make ahead of time, store it in the freezer and cook later whenever your craving these delicious kababs or having a lazy day! I learned how to make Shami kabab on the stovetop, called my mom for the recipe and spent hours… and yes HOURS trying to make shami kabab. Instant pot or any pressure cooker is a blessing as this will cut the cooking time and half. Also, I consider this recipe a life-saving recipe. Often times, this has been a last-minute meal for my family or snacks for last-minute guests. You simply pull it out of the freezer, fry and serve. Read along for the full recipe or check out my youtube video for this recipe:
How to serve? Main course or snack?
This is a no brainer. Shami kababs are pretty versatile and can be served with bread, roti, naan, rice, chutney or even paired with your favorite meals. You don’t even need to pair shami kabab with anything and just eat it as is. Oh, and you can even use these to make Pakistani style bun kababs with onion, tomato, mint yogurt, and chutney. It can also be served as a last meal, appetizer or even as an afternoon snack. My family would make these for last-minute guests and served it with tea. Great meal item for those that observe Ramadan. I would make a huge batch a month prior and then make it for suhoor or iftar. Bottom line: this meal is very convenient when you are short on time, busy with other tasks or have little to no energy. Here are some of my favorite pairings for shami kabab:
- Daal chawal (yellow lentils)
- Aloo ki bhujia (Stir-fried potatoes )
- vegetable stew
- fresh handmade roti
- plain rice
- biryani rice
- Ketchup (lol)
- chili garlic sauce
- chutney
Shami Kabab
Equipment
- Instant Pot or Electric Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
A. Shami Kabab Mixture
- 1.5 lbs boneless meat beef or mutton
- 1 cup channa daal (split chickpeas) washed and soaked for 30 mins
- 1/2 medium sized onion sliced
- 6-8 cloves garlic
- 1 inch ginger julienned
- 1/4 cup water
- 1.5 inch cinammon stick
- 1 black cardamom
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 6-8 dry whole red chilis
- 1/2 tsp peppercorn
- 1/2 tsp cloves
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
B. Aromatics for the mixture
- 1/2 medium sized onion finely chopped
- 1/2 bunch of cilantro finely chopped
- 1/4 bunch of mint leaves finely chopped
- 2-3 green chilies finely chopped. Can be omitted as well.
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients from list A in your pressure cooker. cover the lid and turn the knob to sealing position.
- Pressure cook for 30 minutes and 10 minutes of NPR.
- Release the pressure. Open the lid when the pin drops.
- Separate the meat from the lentils and shred them by hand. Note: if there is any liquid in the pot, you can press the saute button and cook until water dries up.
- Add the shredded meat back in the pot. With a potato masher, mash and mix the meat and lentils together.
- Once mixed, add all the ingredients from list B. Mix the ingrediants throughly.
- Now make patties with the mixture. Take same kabab mixture in your hands, roll up a ball, flatten it and smooth out the edges. See video
- You can freeze and store the patties for later use OR shallow fry it to serve immediately.