Turkish Beyti Kabab

Who needs to have a fork when you can have a kabab stick? Well this kabab falls right off the stick onto your fork. Turkish Beyti kabab.

The dish is named after Beyti Güler, the owner of the popular restaurant Beyti in Istanbul. He was inspired to create his own dish in 1961 after witnessing Swiss butcher Möller's method of preparing meat, when he was visiting Switzerland. 

Have you wondered about the meaning and origin of the word Kabab? The Arabic root word, kabab means “roasted meat.” Kebab derives from a Persian term for the dish that passed into both Arabic (as kabāb) and Turkish (as kebap). Kebabs are thought to have originated among transhumant peoples in Central Asia who had a heavy meat diet. 

Fast forward, this kabab is neatly tucked in a thin, soft traditional Turkish bread called lavash. Only to be further dunked into a luscious tomato sauce and a creamy yogurt dip. You can also substitute the lavash with regular chapathi too. This recipe calls for multiple components but I assure you simplicity and in the end you will definitely agree it’s all worth the effort.

Let’s get started with this mouth watering Kebab dish;

For the Kabab mix:

1. In a food processor, add three slices of broken bread, onion(1 big, roughly chopped), 2 big fresh red chillies, 1/2cup parsley( roughly chopped), 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste, salt and 500 gm minced meat. Blitz it nicely until all ingredients well incorporated. 

2. Add 1tsp cumin powder, black pepper powder, paprika powder and salt to taste. Mix well. Refrigerate for at least an hour. If you are using wooden kabab sticks then soak them in water. 

For the tomato sauce:

1. In a chopper add 4-5 ripe tomatoes, 2-3 garlic cloves, 2 green chillies and chop to form a purée. 

2. In a saucepan heat 5 tbsp of olive oil, add the purée and allow to come to a boil. 

3. Lower heat and add, 2 tsp tomato paste, 1 tsp paprika powder and salt to taste. Add a cup of water and allow to simmer until water reduces and thick sauce texture is achieved. (About 5-6 mins)

For the Garlic-parsley oil to rub on the Lavash bread:

1. In a small saucepan heat 1/4 cup olive oil, add 3-4 finely chopped garlic cloves followed by 2 tbsp chopped parsley. Stir for 1 min and take off heat. Sprinkle some paprika powder and season with salt to taste. 

For making the lavash bread:

1. In a mixing bowl take 250gms of all purpose flour, make a well in the center and add 125 ml water, 2 tbsp olive oil and 1 tsp salt. Gently push in the flour little by little to the center, and stir in until all the flour is incorporated. 

2. Knead into a soft dough(for about 6-7 mins).

3. Divide the dough into 6 parts. 

4. Roll it very thin and evenly. You could stretch out the lavash further between your fingers. (Like the pizza throw and stretch.)

5. Heat a pan.( I’m using an iron pan).Place the lavash and allow to cook till small bubbles appear. Turn and let the bubbles puff up some more. We don’t want to over cook as it will turn crisp. We need it to be pliable. Turn it around one last time and take it off heat. Rub some butter if desired.(it helps to keep the lavash moist. 

Grill the Kababs:

1. Thread the kabab mixture onto the kabab sticks. (I used the flat wooden ones). (Size depends on the size of your pan)

2. Heat a pan.( I use the flat cast iron dosa pan) pour some olive oil and place the kabab sticks. Allow to cook on one side(about 3-4 mins). Alongside the kababs you can throw in some long green chillies, capsicum and onion chunks to char.

3. Turn over and repeat, until nicely cooked through. Take off heat. 

Assemble:

1. Preheat the oven. Take the Lavash bread and brush warm garlic- parsley olive oil on both sides. Place the bread on a plate and cooked kabab stick on the lavash end. Roll from one side and while holding firm, gently pull out the stick. Place some mozzarella on the remaining part.( this is totally optional, but kind of helps in sealing the kabab roll in place.)

2. Your roll is ready. Cut the rolls to uniform size and place it on your serving platter. Drizzle generously with the tomato sauce. 

3. Put it in the oven for about 10 mins to bring all the flavors together. Garnish with chopped parsley and charred veggies and Greek yogurt (or labneh) topped with leftover garlic parsley olive oil. Enjoy!!