photo by A. Davey

I have mentioned in prior posts that I once read the New York Times Magazine's food column, but have since given up.  One of the main drivers that chased me towards the travel section was the addition of a series called "Cooking With Dexter".  The series centers on a young cook, maybe 4 or 5, that has more annoying foodie street cred than some of the bloggers I've read.  I have a kid the same age, and other than making play dough, I can't imagine him ever showing the slightest glimmer of the overly precocious Dexter's behavior.

I was poking around the interweb, learning about African street food, when I caught some mentions of Dabo Kolo.  The only African food I cook on a regular basis are Moroccan tagines, so its time I learned more.  One post in particular got me thinking about whether drawing the kid into cooking would be a good idea.  Seems like a simple recipe and very kid friendly.

The short answer is it was a total failure.  The Dabo Kolo turned out great, but the kid kept insisting we use his recipe, which had more to do with assembling everything in the pantry into a grey mush and cooking it.

The optional part of this recipe is the pepper.  If you include the chili, I use the same reshampatti chili I use in Indian recipes, the end result is going to have a bite kids won't like.  If you want to go the kid friendly route, cover the pieces with a little butter and cinnamon sugar while they are still warm.

Dabo Kolo

1 cup flour

1 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp hot red chili

1 Tbsp melted butter

1/2 cup warm water

Directions

1. Mix all the ingredients together.  Add the water slowly and mix together, making sure the dough is not too sticky.


2. Knead on a floured surface.


3. Pull off a ball of dough the size of a golf ball, roll out to form a strip of dough.


4. Cook in a skillet with no oil until each piece is golden brown.  Turn regularly.

As a kid, I only knew shish kebab as a threat or danger.  When my brother threw a pitchfork at me, the running joke was that he would make me into a shish kebab.  Kids don't really think about what they're saying (or really anything at all), so it never occurred to me there was a great food attached to that lingering joke.  Shish kebab was really nothing more than a cool word we learned from Johnny Quest.

Turns out kebabs are to most of the cooking world what backyard BBQs are to the US.  The urge that makes someone buy a $2000 stainless steel backyard behemoth is the same urge that drives a griller in Greece to obsess about his marinade.  I can imagine a kebab chef in Istanbul maniacally protecting his marinade recipe like the treasure that it is...

This is a very simple recipe and very close in make up and process to Chicken Tikka.  In fact, I usually make them at the same time.  Once the grill is hot its worth the trouble to go ahead and cook it all at once.  Its ok to marinate the meat longer than 2 hours, but be prepared for a bit more kick.

Shish kebab

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp black pepper seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

3 gloves garlic

1 inch ginger

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp tomato paste

1/2 tsp red chili pepper

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp garam masala

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp Thyme

2 pounds sirloin or lamb

Directions

1. In a preheated cast iron pan, toast the coriander, black pepper and cumin until they are cooked but not burned.  Usually no more than a couple minutes.  Immediately grind in a spice grinder.


2. Blend the toasted spices and the rest of the marinade (except the Thyme) into a puree.


3. Cut the meat into bite size pieces.  Sprinkle with the Thyme.


4. Add the marinade to the meat and mix well.


5. Marinate meat for at least 2 hours


6. If using bamboo skewers, soak the skewers for 30 minutes.


7. Grill the skewers on your preferred grill.