Grilled Marinated Lamb Kababs - fresh ginger

Method

• Place the lamb cubes in a mixing bowl.
• Squeeze the lime juice into a blender.
• Add the ginger, garlic, 1 red onion, salt, green papaya, and green chilies and blend until smooth.
• Pour over the lamb and toss to coat.
• Marinate the lamb for at least 4 hours in the refrigerator.
• Cut the remaining onion into eighths and then separate the layers.
• Cut the bell pepper into pieces that match the size of the onion pieces.
• Thread the lamb and the onions and peppers, alternating pieces on the skewers.
• Heat the grill.
• Brush the kababs generously with the mustard oil and place on the grill.
• Cook for about 10 minutes on each side.
• Brush with mustard oil again and sprinkle with the nigella seeds and panch phoron and cook for another 5 to 7 minutes on each side.
• Serve hot!
• Panch Phoron: Bengali Five Spice Blend
• Every existenceno matter how simpleis in some way tinged with the myriad flavors of life.
• This is often a composition of sweet, sour, bitter, savory, and the astringent, much like the five-spice blend we Bengalis call panch phoron.
• The Bengali Five Spice Blend is a blend of five whole spices in equal proportions; cumin seeds, mustard seeds, nigella seeds, fenugreek seeds, and fennel seeds.
• The fenugreek is a substitution for the spice called radhuni (a form of celery seed relatively uncommon outside of India).
• The actual panch phoron, however, is available in most Indian stores, often transliterated as panch puran.
• It is almost impossible to prepare a Bengali meal without using the panch phoron blend, and the individual spices are also important and form the basis of the Bengali pantry.
• The Bengali kitchen is typified by the scent of the mustard oil heating, followed by the crackling sound of the essential five-spice mixture.
• The crackling is almost immediately followed by the fragrance of cumin, nigella, and fennel merging into a union of scents.
• The popping of whole seeds in oil to add flavor to a dish is a hallmark of Indian cooking.
• This process adds a nutty taste to the seeds and mellows and matures their flavor.