A taste of Egypt - Kebabs!

Many of you know that I am currently in the process of releasing a magazine for the Hurghada Area. As one of the on going sections running in the mag will be traditional Egyptian Recipes, I figured I may as well share them here too!

So here it is, I am proud to present the first edition of "A Taste of Egypt." Any and all comments are welcome!

Welcome to our Taste of Egypt section!

Have you ever walked into an Egyptian home, tasted the unique and wide range of foods available, and wondered how you would be able to re-create that little taste of Egypt in your own kitchen? Look no further! Each edition of Spotlight Hurghada will present a new and unique dish, simplified for even the most inexperienced of Kitchen Chef’s to try out.

Our release of Issue 0 coincides with the Eid al-Addha festival, so what could be more appropriate than a traditional Eid dish for our first recipe. Ask any Egyptian, and they will be quick to tell you that the Eid al-Addha festival is synonymous with meat, lots and lots of meat dishes. Ranging from roasted lamb, to chicken, to barbequed liver, to Kebab! So here, simplified for anyone to try, is a traditional Kebab recipe, cooked in many kitchens throughout Egypt during this special holiday.

To prepare this Kebab recipe Egyptian style, you will first need to make a Barbeque (BBQ) Sauce to marinate the meat in. Once the meat has marinated, it’s as easy as throwing it on a skewer and barbequing away.  The recipe below will serve four.

The Ingredients you’ll need:

BBQ MIX:

• 1 Large Onion
• ½ Cup Water
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 Teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1 Teaspoon Meat Spices (Also known as mixed spices)
• 1 Small Teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1 Small Teaspoon Sugar

For the KEBAB:

1 kg of Meat, preferred meat is Mutton

Assorted Vegetables (Peppers, onions, mushrooms, whatever vegetables you prefer!)

Directions:

Firstly, begin with preparing your meat.

• Cut into medium cubes or oblongs
• Soak meat in a mixture of water and vinegar for approximately one hour. Rinse the meat.

Next, you will prepare the BBQ marinade mix.

• Place all the ingredients for the BBQ mix in a blender.
• Blend together until smooth.
• Add this mix to the meat, and coat well.
• Cover the meat and place in the fridge. Ideally, let the meat sit in the marinade for 2 hours. The longer you marinade, the more taste the meat will absorb!

Prepare the grill by adding the coal and allowing it to warm up.

Finally, get the meat ready for the grill!

• Place the cubes of meat onto Kebab Skewers
• Alternate Meat and Vegetables

When barbequing the Kebab, grill each side of the meat for approximately 2-3 mins, until the meat is cooked to your desired level. 

Hints and Tips to optimize your Kebabs:

• Do not put too much coal in the grill in order to avoid burning the meat.
• Put the rods close together so you can use the benefit of the heat.
• Serve with parsley, as it will absorb any excess fats!

Bon Appétit, or as they would say in Egypt, “Bil Hana wa Shiva!”