Christina's Kitchen in Budapest: Boti Kebab

While lamb's rather scarce here in Budapest (hence the lack of photos), I ate lots of it in Washington, both cooked at home - thanks to frozen chops at Trader Joe's as well as fresh cuts at local butchers - and at restaurants (mostly Indian). While I'm always happy to order lamb curry or lamb biryani when I'm at an Indian restaurant, last summer I discovered boti kebab at a place called Tiffin in Langley Park. And it was love at first bite.

You know when you eat something so delicious you actually get sad when it's all gone? Well, I felt that way for hours after that first taste. So I went online to find a boti kebab recipe, and after a few tries, I came up with my own version.

This is basically a spice and yogurt marinade. I mostly use it for lamb, but I've also tried it with goat and chicken. Just remember that goat is much tougher than lamb, so I recommend oven-baking goat instead of cooking it on the grill.

BOTI KEBAB MARINADE
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup yogurt
1/4 cup onion
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons diced fresh ginger
1 clove of garlic
1/2 teaspoon garam masala

Instructions:
1. Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.
2. Marinate 2 pounds of lamb for six to 24 hours.
3. Grill the lamb on skewers on the BBQ, or cook in an oven at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes until meat is tender.
Note: I like to make a bunch of this marinade and freeze it in an ice cube tray, then pop the cubes in a baggie for later use. That way, I'm never more than a day away from my own slice of boti kebab heaven.

Lamb is one of the roundtable features of the month at A Kitchen in Brooklyn. Other entries include Sasha's braised lamb ancho chile tacos and roast rack of lamb with fresh herbs; Cindy's lamb & Pinot Noir wine pairing and Eric's lamb steak.