Name: Lotus Stem / Kamal Kakdi / Nadru Shami kebab recipe by Tikuli Dogra at BetterButter
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: Tender fresh Lotus stem – 3-4 small; Boiled Potato – 1 medium size; Ginger – 1 tbsp, finely chopped; Green chilies – 2-3, finely chopped; Fresh coriander leaves – 2 tbsp – finely chopped; Ghee – for shallow frying; Cloves – 4-5; Black cardamom – 2; Green cardamom – 3-4; Cinnamon stick – 1 inch; Bay leaves – 2; Black peppercorns – 6-8; Freshly ground pepper – 1/4 tsp; Kashmiri red chili powder – to taste; Garam masala powder – 1/4 tsp; Chaat masala – 1/4 tsp; Roasted cumin powder – 1/4 tsp; Salt – to taste; Clove, nutmeg and mace powder 2-3 pinches; Fennel powder – 1/4 tsp; Brown Onion Paste - 3-4 tbsp; Bread crumbs or Popped amaranth seeds – for coating (optional); Sattu / roasted chana dal power – 2-3 tbsp or as required.; Ghee / Clarified butter - For shallow frying

Ingredients Serving: 6

Tender fresh Lotus stem – 3-4 small
Boiled Potato – 1 medium size
Ginger – 1 tbsp, finely chopped
Green chilies – 2-3, finely chopped
Fresh coriander leaves – 2 tbsp – finely chopped
Ghee – for shallow frying
Cloves – 4-5
Black cardamom – 2
Green cardamom – 3-4
Cinnamon stick – 1 inch
Bay leaves – 2
Black peppercorns – 6-8
Freshly ground pepper – 1/4 tsp
Kashmiri red chili powder – to taste
Garam masala powder – 1/4 tsp
Chaat masala – 1/4 tsp
Roasted cumin powder – 1/4 tsp
Salt – to taste
Clove, nutmeg and mace powder 2-3 pinches
Fennel powder – 1/4 tsp
Brown Onion Paste - 3-4 tbsp
Bread crumbs or Popped amaranth seeds – for coating (optional)
Sattu / roasted chana dal power – 2-3 tbsp or as required.
Ghee / Clarified butter - For shallow frying

Instructions

Choose the lotus stem that is sealed from both end to avoid dirt inside. Prefer the tender ones as they will be less fibrous and easy to cook.
Wash, peel and cut the lotus stem in 2 inch cubes. In a pressure cooker add the cubes with all the whole spices and just enough water to cook. ( The bhee should be submerged). Give it 2-3 whistles. It should break easily but still be firm.
Make browned onion paste - thinly slice the onions and fry them in a little ghee till they are crisp. It should be done on low flame to ensure even browning. Take them out & make a paste on a silbatta or roughly grind.
Drain the water and whole spices, cool and grate the lotus stem. Also grate/ mash the boiled potato. Grating the lotus stem helps it retain the meat like texture.
In a large bowl, add the grated lotus stem, potato, green chili, chopped ginger, coriander greens, onion ( chopped or browned paste) all the powdered spices, salt, sattu, mix properly. Adjust the spice threshold and the salt at this point.
Make walnut size balls and flatten them to make shammi kababs. Roll them on bread crumbs or crushed cornflakes or popped ramdana as I did. You can omit this step too. The coating makes the kebabs crisp.
Heat a non stick taw or frying pan and add some ghee to it for shallow frying the kebabs. Keep the flame to medium so that the kebabs get cooked properly from inside too.
Place one kabab to test that it retains the shape, if it does add a few more but DO NOT crowd the tawa as the ghee temperature will lower and the kebabs won’t fry properly.
If the kebab breaks, add a little more binding to the mixture. Once the kebabs turn nice brown from one side, flip and let it brown from the other side as well.
Take them out on absorbent paper to remove excess ghee.
Serve these delicious nadru shami kebabs with mint coriander green chutney, onion rings and lemon quarters.

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