veg shammi kabab, how to make veg shammi kabab

By on August 7th, 2013

veg-shammi-kabab-recipe

shammi kabab is a very popular awadhi dish made from minced meat, lentils and spices. these kababs are succulent, tasty and melt in the mouth.

well i know these facts since i have had them before becoming a vegetarian. I would just have 1 or 2 kababs and thats it. I could not eat more since i did not like the taste & texture of meat in the kabab….. and by the way all the kababs were made my me.

there was time when i would cook fish, meat & chicken for my folks at home… i would just cook and not eat at all. it was just cooking that gave me a lot of joy.

veg shammi kabab recipe

by the way all in my family are non vegetarians and we co exist :-)

now these vegetarian shammi kababs are not melt in the mouth. that much i can tell you… but they are delicious.

veg shammi kabab recipe

I bet you won’t miss the meaty shammi kababs when you dig a bite in these vegetarian ones.

I make these veg kababs usually with chana dal or whole black chickpeas/kala chana. the recipe posted here has been made with black chana. if you have presoaked chana handy, then making these kababs is a breeze.

shammi kababs made from black chickpeas

veg kababs are excellent as starters and even teams up well with bread in a sandwich, with bun in a burger and with pita bread too. pita bread reminds me of the best pita bread i had made some days ago. and when i say, best… i mean it. the bread was soft, fluffy and fluffed up so well…. plus vegan too.

ok… back to the veg kababs. once shaped into small patties and then shallow fried – serve these veg shammi kabab hot hot,  with onion-mint-lime salad or the mint-yogurt chutney that is usually served with tandoori snacks.

vegetarian shammi kabab recipe

if you are looking for similar recipes then do check hara bhara kabab, paneer tikka, aloo tikki and mushroom tikka.

veg shammi kabab recipe details below:

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vegetarian shammi kabab
 
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veg shammi kabab is a very popular awadhi dish
Author:
Recipe type: snacks
Cuisine: awadhi
Serves: 9-10 veg kababs
Ingredients (american measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml)
  • 1 cup dried black chickpeas/kala chana
  • 1 medium sized onion, finely chopped or minced
  • 1 tbsp chopped mint leaves
  • 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • ½ tsp red chili powder
  • 1 green chili, finely chopped
  • ½ tbsp ginger paste
  • ½ tsp garam masala powder
  • 2 tbsp chickpea flour/besan
  • salt
  • oil for frying the kababs
Instructions
  1. soak the black chickpeas in water overnight of for 6-7 hours.
  2. drain and pressure cook the chickpeas with enough water and salt till they are thoroughly cooked.
  3. let the pressure settle down in the cooker.
  4. drain the cooked chickpeas now.
  5. in a large bowl add the chickpeas and mash them with a wooden spoon or a blender or your hands.
  6. just make a semi coarse mixture and not too smooth.
  7. add all the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
  8. make into small round shaped kababs or patties.
  9. shallow fry the kababs in medium hot oil till crisp and browned on both sides.
  10. you can also bake the kababs with a drizzle of oil for a healthier version.
  11. garnish kababs with mint leaves and serve hot.
  12. serve veg kababs with onion-mint salad along with slices of lime and some mint chutney.
Notes
you can also make the kabas with chana dal or both chana dal and black chickpeas. when frying, for testing first fry one kabab in the oil. if it doesn't break than you can safely fry the remaining kababs. if it does break, then add some more chickpea flour/besan to the mixture.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 3-4


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{ 53 Responses }

  1. Rajani says

    Hello i read ur blog a lot and tried many of ur recepies they r really good.thank u.and i also wanted to know wts the diff bw convection mode in microwave and the electric one. I bake all my cakes in the former.

    • says

      thanks. both convection mode in microwave and the OTG or electric oven use the convection principle of heating. so there is no difference in the heating method. there are just a few differencea like – in microwave the heating element is placed on top and it has a fan. whereas in most electric ovens, the heating element is placed on top and bottom of the oven and they do not have fans.

  3. Sunayana says

    this is a v v good recipe for veg shammi kababs. thank you.
    i also added a half tsp of chaat masala to the mix and i think that it added a bit more flavor.
    very healthy for the kids as well.

    made it twice already. once with only kala channa and once with kala channa and channa daal combo – both v good.

  5. jhanvi says

    hi!!!
    i hope you reply soon since its soooo old post dear. i tried making these kabab today.. for some reason; as soon as i added the kababs. whole oil turned white foam sort of. and the kabab absorbed all the oil and tasted so heavy and so fragile in texture. i used chana daal boiled. any idea???
    :(

    • says

      hi jhanvi, when we fry patties or even falafel or stuff which has ground chana dal, kala chana or kabuli chana, the oil does foam. but it goes after some time. did you deep fry or shallow fry.
      i guess the oil was not enough hot, hence the kababs absorbed so much oil. they will become fragile if they absorb a lot of oil. i can imagine the the taste and texture since this has happened with me too.

      as a rule, when frying tikkis, kababs or patties or even falafel, always add one small kabab or tikki first. if the kababs get fried perfectly and do not absorb a lot of oil, then the oil has the right temperature. another suggestion would be to pan fry the kababs. these would make them crisp as well as less oil will be used. its not due to chana dal. i even make the chana dal vadas at home and its the same consistency as these kababs.

  6. saurabh says

    these kebabs are ok but not like those veg kababs in lucknow in which they add soyabean nuggets and mesh them together with dal they totally melt in the mouth

    • says

      may be those kebabs are melt in mouth, but these are healthier. i avoid using soybean nuggets which one gets in india as they are heavily processed with no soy goodness or nutrition in them.

  7. sunita says

    Hi Dasaana

    I made this on sunday and it came absolutely fantastic and delicious, i usually used to make this fried but your this recipe was too good

    Take cr
    sunita

  12. says

    The Kabab’s looks awesome Dassana, I always made kabab’s with potato mix but never tried with channa…I should definately give a try :)
    Like you being the only vegeterain at home and cooking nonveg for everyone else feels awesome.

    BTW: Your Continue Reading feature is not working.

    • says

      thanks shruthi. the continue reading feature is not for the first two posts on the home page. for these, the image or title has to be clicked to read the whole posts.

  15. says

    The shaami kababs looks absolutely delicious. And now, I cant wait to read your post on the Pita Bread. You made them like a pro!

    Btw, the white background looks amazing.

    • says

      thanks familycook. i have made pita bread before also but using different measurements. this time they were different from the earlier recipe i have made before and they were so good.

  16. says

    My husband is non-vegetarian and cook fish and chicken for him even now. I really enjoy cooking them because i know he loves eating them. Also… I truly respect everybody food choices.
    Lovely kebabs!

  17. DiamondN says

    Hi Dassana,
    Can I use the normal light brown chickpea instead of the black one?

  19. sreedevi says

    These are almost similar to our andhra recipe CHANA DAL VADA, but where we mix fresh coriander leaves, onion, cinnamon, cloves, ginger with soaked chanadal paste(rough). not cooked dal. But ur recipe as it cooked , we can fry in little oil which is good in health terms…………
    i will definitely try it………………….

    • says

      i do make chana dal vada at home but never posted the recipe. as you have rightly pointed out the difference is in the raw and cooked method. you can just pan fry with a little oil also on the tava or non stick tava till crisp & browned on both sides.

  20. says

    These are similar to falafel, aren’t they? And they indeed are tasty. And as usual good pictures that make it more mouth-watering. Will await the pita bread recipe

    • says

      they are not similar to falafel. these are more denser than falafel and the taste is also typically awadhi. falafel has a different taste altogether and a lighter in texture than these kebabs.

  22. Zohra Rajah says

    Am sure it is good. Waiting for weekend to try it.

    Looking forward to receive the pita bread recipe.

    Thanks you so much

  24. says

    i love love that first picture.. clean, white and the perfect depth! and the kababs look amazing too. i need to try these with the black chickpeas for sure. how is the fam reacting to your trying a vegan diet:)

    • says

      hubbs is ok. the rest still don’t know that i am going on a vegan diet. if they come to know i will get strange stares and great & lengthy discourses :-)

  25. Bhavna says

    Hey Dasana lovely pics pf the pita bread waiting for the recipe…I made your normal white bread recipe it was wonderful and also made the vegan banana cake was a super hit at home …will soon try the kebabs…loves n God bless !

    • says

      hey bhavna, after a long time i am hearing from you. i hope you and your family are great. i still have to make your potato mayonnaise. thanks for making the recipes as well as your feedback. hugs and god bless you and your family too.

  26. Ram says

    In Old Karnataka area, specially Mysore and Banglore it goes by the name ” Ambode” [AmbaVade]
    In that, only green chilly and red chilli powder and salt is added and then grind it to a rough dow. It is fried in oil till brown and crisp. For better taste Mint leaves are added for fragrance,before grinding. But in your receipe more masala is added which, I am sur will enhance the taste. We shall try it out. Thanks for this new receipe.

    • says

      thanks for sharing this info ram. i have heard about ambode but never made them at home. the garam masala does enhances the taste of the kababs.

  27. says

    shammi kebab with kala chana sounds interesting.. And Dassana your pita bread puffed up so nice.. I am just staring at the picture..

  29. says

    Dassana both the kabab’s and the clicks are amazing….cant take my eyes off these yummy chana kababs….I make these kabab’s for my kids, only difference in your recipe is adding chickpea flour whereas I add cornflour /bread cumbs for binding, will try your version by replacing cornflour to chickpea flour, surely a better option. Waiting for the pita bread recipe :).

  30. says

    Absolutely wonderful!! I make these with the green channa too! Perfect on a rainy day. I am waiting for you the pita recipe.. It looks gorgeous!