TURKEY KEBABS

These delicious mini turkey Kebabs are a bit different than the traditional Indian Kebabs. This dish has been a family favorite for generations. Traditionally, they are made out of ground meat of goat. To avoid the red meat, I tried it with the ground 97% fat free turkey. You might have to search a little bit for this type of meat- but it is definitely worth it if you want to create a low calorie meal without sacrificing taste. I have served this to my husband,who is also a heart patient and he just loved it. Now I mostly make this for family members who choose to follow low carb diets like the South Beach Diet. Whether or not you are looking for ways to spice up your regular meals when dieting or just looking for a healthy entree, I promise you will not be disappointed with this dish!

Ingredients:
1 Lb. (450gm.) low fat Turkey.(Thawed to room temperature)
3 Inches long and 1 Inch wide, skinned fresh ginger piece
2 Jalapeno peppers/large green chillies(have to be hot to taste)
8 Large cloves of skinned fresh garlic/3 Tsp.garlic paste
1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves
1 tsp. of Black pepper powder
1/2 tsp. of Red chilly powder ( Optional if want to make less spicy and less hot)
1 tsp. of Kosher salt/regular salt
2 tsp. of All purpose powder or Garbanzo flour to make it gluten free (optional for South Beach Diet)
2 tbsp. of Canola oil Out of this oil 2 T-spns will be used in the following mixture and the rest for the lightly pan frying.
1 egg white
For garnish:
1 Lemon/Lime. Seedless and thinly cut as shown in the picture. Keep it aside to arrange around the cakes as show in the picture.
1 medium size white onion, Thinly cut into onion rings.
2 tbsp.of Lemon juice ( May be used from the readily available bottled)
1/2 tsp. of salt.
Mix all the above three ingredients together in a suitable bowl and keep it covered aside to use as a garnish.
Cooking Directions:
In a sufficiently large bowl put the ground turkey. Beat the white of egg in a small bowl and add it to the ground turkey. Mix it thoroughly with a fork into the ground turkey.
Grate together in a mixer, the ginger piece, green chillies and the garlic cloves. Add this mixture to the turkey along with black pepper powder, red chilli powder (optional), all purpose flour (optional), salt and 2 Teasopns of canola oil. Add half of the coriander leaves to the mixture and mix well with a fork. Leave the mixture covered for a minimum of 15 minutes in the fridge. You may leave it even for couple of hours if you are going to cook it later. But take it out of the fridge at least 20 minutes before cooking if you have kept longer than 15 minutes so that it will be of room temperature before cooking.

 Make 12 equal balls out of the turkey mixture. (An easy trick for beginners… first divide the mixture in the same bowl into 4 parts with the help of a knife and then it will be easy to form 3 equal balls out of each part.)
Take a nonstick frying pan which would hold 4 to 6 turkey balls at a time and heat it up on the medium heat for a minute with half of the remaining canola oil.
Flatten the turkey balls into small round, 1/4 inch thick as shown in the picture. Place 4-6 (depending to the size of the pan)flat Kebabs on the pan. Leave them frying evenly in the oil for 3 to 4 minutes and turn them over to the other side with the frying spoon. Press each of them down a little with frying spoon and leave them frying for another 3-4 minutes. I find that this trick ensures that the Kebabs won’t break apart. Do this until each side looks dark brownish black color, almost as if they were coming off the grill.

Arrange them either 3 in each individual plate or all in one large serving plate. Garnish as shown in the picture with onion rings and chopped coriander leaves. In a small bowl pour a thin layer of lemon juice and then add onion slices and sprinkle with salt. I let this sit for 10-15 minutes and then serve it with the turkey Kebabs. Everyone can then add how much onion they want to their dish, Place the cut lemon/lime pieces as shown in the picture and it is ready to be served.
Ketchup or french mustard also tastes nice with these Kebabs.
You may serve a light soup and a salad of your choice, followed by a fruit to make a complete healthy meal. Check back in a few days and I’ll be posting some soup and salad recipes.