Minced pork cocktail kebabs

First of all Happy Onam to all you gorgeous people. I am craving a traditional feast, but then sheer laziness to make it and the unnecessary exorbitant prices the restaurants are charging for it is making me stick to er, a pizza for dinner. My plans of posting the pictures have also gone awry as I dove straight into work and was left with no time whatsoever. Now I have just lost the enthusiasm to do the same.

My life revolves around the weather, a fetish I developed after moving to the UK, and so here is the update. Its officially Autumn in our neck of woods and I must say its not as depressing as I thought it would be. In fact I'm secretly enjoying the gloomy weather and continuous rains to an extent. The only down side is the fact that photography has taken a back seat as it starts getting dark early and since I start cooking only by around 5, I've missed out on what little sunlight is pouring through.

This dish however happened by fluke. I had picked up some minced pork to make some burger patties and since I didn't know what else to do with the leftover meat, these kebabs were born. Since it was a comparatively warmer and brighter day today I decided to embrace the occasion by taking these pics outside on my balcony. I am pretty sure I wouldnt be seeing this kinda weather any time soon, so I'm thinking there would be a bit of a delay with my next post as well. Just letting you all know in advance, you see. Coming back to the recipe, you can make them as patties if you prefer or make larger kebabs using the entire skewer. I am thinking this is a brilliant appetizer idea served along with a dip.

On a completely different note, please head over to Miss Tam Chiak owned by the lovely Maureen, and check out my guest post 'South Indian Egg Roast' among other fabulous reviews and pics. Once again thanks a lot for giving this amazing opportunity.

Minced pork- 450 gms
Curry powder- 3 tsp
English shallots- 3, finely chopped
Coriander leaves- a handful, finely chopped
Green chilli- 1, sliced
Chilli powder- 1/2 tsp
Salt and pepper- to taste
Wooden skewers- 5, broken in halves

Soak the wooden skewers in a glass of water for at least 1 hour.

Into a mixing bowl add all the other ingredients and using your hand, mix well until well combined.

Cover and keep the bowl in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

When you are ready to cook, preheat the oven to 176C and line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Wet your hands lightly, take small portions of the meat and press on to the skewers, leaving a couple of inches below.

Make sure they are not too heavy, or otherwise it would fall off.

bake for about 9 minutes on each side and then drain on paper towels.

Serve with a spiced mint yoghurt dip and some salad greens and you are good to go.

Notes: You can use minced beef or even boiled and mashed vegetables instead of the meat.
The above mentioned amount makes about 5 medium sized patties as well.
The curry powder mentioned is a mixture of all sorts of spices and powders and we get it here in grocery stores under- mild, medium and strong. I think you can use any meat masala in its place.
The kebabs are not spicy at all, so increase the amount of chilli powder or green chillies for a more spicier version. I made the dip spicy instead.
While adding salt, go according to your instinct because you obviously cant taste raw meat. The next time i am definitely going to jot down the measurement.
Go ahead and grill it on an outdoor BBQ or even in an oven for a max of 3 to 4 minutes each side. I tried one batch in the frying pan, but that means you have to add oil and I ended up making a mess. But not everyone's like me, so go ahead and fry it if that's more convenient.