The real taste of kebabs comes out when you eat them straight off the skewers. Three things differentiate an ordinary kebab from an exceptional one.
1. Quality of meat used.
2. Marination.
3. How delicately it has been cooked.
Compromise on one of the three and you are just having some meat. Kebabs are delicious because of the juice they hold and the juice they get cooked in. In India the most popular kebabs historically have been “mutton kebabs” made from goat meat. Over last two decades chicken kebabs have started doing much better in the market place, owing to their being cheaper and perceived to be healthier than mutton kebabs. People in general shun red-meat in favour of white-meat, however kebab die-hards insist that if it is not made from the meat off the thighs of the goat it is not a kebab.
Cooking kebabs is not a two minute deal, it requires understanding of the meat, the marination, the fire and above all patience. Cooking kebabs is exceptionally slow cooking. If you are in a hurry opt for some other cooking technique, like frying.The Kky skill while cooking meat as kebabs is that it should remain moist. Well seasoned, over a few hours marinated meat with liberal infusion of juices while cooking makes for the most delicious kebabs. Kebabs allow for multiple options in marination, you can use oil, milk, butter, wines or fresh juices. Goat meat kebabs made after marination in pomegranate juice and cooked slowly with juice used liberally to keep meat moist, comes out very well.
Enjoy!
