Galauti/Galawati Kabab- Vegetarian Version | Vegan Preparation

 

Hi all!!

I love making Kebabs, which is quite evident from the number of kebabs I have posted earlier. Just to name a few here, there are two versions of vegetarian Shami kababs, one made using elephant foot yam and the other using soya. Then there are a few versions of vegetarian seekh kabab, to name a few, there’s one made using yellow lentils and then there’s another unique one made using green peas and walnut.

Recently, S got an entire raw Jackfruit from his office tree. And when we cut into it, we realised how tender and fresh the fruit was. Since, there was an entire jackfruit cut into pieces, we made many preparations using it, which I would gradually share here but I’m starting off with a kebab. I have posted a Jackfruit biryani for my 100th post and have also posted a unique Jackfruit and raw banana cutlet earlier using this wonderful, fibrous fruit which yields a meaty texture on cooking, enabling it to be used as meat replacer in vegetarian preparations.

Kebab/kabab are simply amazing to taste and as a recipe developer, I always find making them challenging too. They can be very simple to make and yet very tricky. Achieving the right texture and balance of flavours is an art in itself and comes through skill and a lot through practice and experimentation. Fortunately for me, my blogging journey of 5yrs has helped me practice and experiment more.

Galawati or Galauti Kebabs is a very popular kebab preparation from Awadhi cuisine. It’s said that the original version of the Galawati kebab, the literal meaning of which means translates to ‘melt in your mouth’, was created for the ageing Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Lucknow, who had lost his teeth but was very passionate about eating meat preparations. These kebabs were specially created by his cooks for him. They were made so soft that they would simply melt in the mouth and hence the name, Galawati. Authentically, it’s made with very fine meat which is tenderised using green papaya and then flavoured with spices and condiments. It’s believed that the original kebab had about 100spices added to it. The kabab mix is then shaped into patties and deep fried in ghee.

I have gone a vegan way and not fried my version in ghee but simply shallow fried in refined oil, but one is free to use ghee when they are trying it. Believe me, I did not miss the ghee or the deep frying, as the kebab was so flavourful in itself and simply melted in the mouth. The jackfruit provided the meaty texture that this kebab asks for and the lentils provides the softness.

Jackfruit Galauti Kabab

गलौटी कबाब​

 

Preparation Time: 1hour 30mins | Cooking Time: 3-4mins/batch | Makes: 23-25pieces| Serves: 6-7| Difficulty Level: Moderate

 

Ingredients

4cups of cubed Jackfruit

1/2cup of Bengal gram lentils/ chana daal soaked in water for half an hour

1tsp oil

5-6 green chillies (mine were not very spicy)

4-5 garlic cloves, use thick ones

1-1/2” piece ginger

1tsp, freshly pounded cardamom powder

1/2tsp garam masala

1-1/2tsp red chilli powder

salt to taste

more oil for shallow frying

Method

Pressure cook the Jackfruit and the lentils for 3whistles or once the pressure has set in, cook on low flame for 15 to 20mins.

Drain maximum water from the lentils.

Heat a tea spoon of oil and fry the green chillies, garlic and ginger. Cool and grind them.

In a mixer grinder grind the cooked jack fruit and lentils to a thick paste. Add the ginger-garlic-chilli paste, cardamom powder, garam masala and red chilli powder. The mixture has to be very soft. In case it’s hard, add water to soften it.

Finally add salt to taste.

 

Mix and divide them into about 25 equal portions. Flatten and shape them to a patty.

 

Heat 2tsp oil in a non stick pan and place 4-5 patties into it. Brown on both the sides by cooking on a medium flame. Handle them very gently while flipping as these are amazingly soft and get broken easily.

 

Serve hot with green chutney mixed with curds, onion slices and lemon slice.

 

Notes:

Adjust spice level as per your taste.

The kebab mix has to be made very smooth, devoid of lumps. Best is to grind them.

Do not use a food processor jar for grinding as the blade does not cut through the fibre of Jackfruit.

I have used minimal oil for shallow frying as I wanted to keep the calories low but one is free to deep fry or use more oil.

Do not over cook the kebabs as they will lose the moisture and dry up.