Plantain Shammi kabab

This is an oil free adaptation of Sanjay Thumma's Shammi Kabab recipe done by baking instead of shallow frying. We liked its taste and specifically enjoyed the addition of pomegranates, one of our favorite fruits! 

Prep Time - 25 mins
Cooking time - 40 mins

Ingredients :

Plantain / Raw banana - 1, medium
Chana dal - 1/2 cup
Onion - half of a medium sized, finely chopped
Green chillies - 3 [ or as per taste ], finely chopped
Ginger - garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
Mint leaves - 8-9 leaves, finely chopped
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp [ or as per taste ]
Cilantro - 3-4 sprigs, finely chopped
Cumin seeds - 1tsp
Oil - 1 tsp
Salt - as per taste

For the filling :

Paneer - 1/3 cup , crumbled                                                                                          
Cilantro - 2 -3 sprigs, finely chopped
Onion - 2 tbsp, finely chopped
Pomegranate - 2 -3 tbsp [ or as per taste]
Chaat masala as per taste
Red chilli powder as per taste

Procedure :

Pressure cook the chana dal and plaintain seperately .
Mash the plaintain and keep aside.

In a medium sized wok, heat oil on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add cumin seeds and let them splutter. Add finely chopped onions and stir till they turn transparent. Now add green chillies, ginger garlic paste and turmenric. Stir till the raw smell of ginger garlic goes off. Now add mint leaves, red chilli powder, cumin powder and coriander powder. Give it a good mix and then add the chana dal. Again give a good mix and add the mashed plaintain and chopped cilantro leaves. Mix properly. Turn off the heat and let it cool for a while and mash the plaintain - chana dal mix till you get a homogenous texture ( like a dough ) [ I did this with hands, you can also use a masher ] . Set aside.

Filling :

Mix all the items under " for the filling " section and keep aside.

Assembling the kabab :

Divide the chana dal -plaintain dough into golf  ball size . Smear some water on your palms and flatten each portion into a disc. Place about 1-2 tsp of paneer filling at the center of the disc, close and seal the edges and make into a patty.
[ If the dough feels very tight or cracks develop, dip your finger into water and apply on the cracks and keep working in the same way till you get a smooth surface ]

Preheat the oven at 350 F and grease a baking sheet with oil. Place the kabab on the baking sheet.

Bake for 10 mins [ or until one side turns brown on top ] and flip and bake for another 10 mins till the other side becomes brown in color.

Serve hot with your favorite chutney!