Shish kebabs are a popular dish made around the world. Any kind of meat may be used: chicken, pork, beef, lamb, mutton, or seafood. Vegetables are used as well. The shish kebab originates in Turkey, where the word shish in Turkish means skewer. Shish kebabs are a combination of meat and vegetables, especially with chicken or seafood. Beef and mutton are cooked either with vegetables or on their own.http://www.helloturkey.net/cuisine.html

There are a variety of shish kebabs made around the world. Some of the shish kebabs from Turkey are well known such as kofte, adana, doner, and tandir. Kofte is made out of a ground meat with ingredients such as parsley, garlic, egg, and bread crumbs. Kofte is then shaped into either meatballs and placed onto skewers, or shaped into a long log on the skewer. Adana kebabs come from the city of Adana in Southern Turkey.http://www.helloturkey.net/cuisine.html Adana is usually made out of either ground beef or lamb, with onion, parsley and spice ingredients.http://turkishcookingclass.blogspot.com/2008/04/adana-kabob.html The doner kebab is a large slab of meat cooked on a skewer on a rotisserie with tomatoes and onion, served in a sandwich.http://desigrub.com/category/bengali-food/ http://www.helloturkey.net/cuisine.html Tandir kebabs are normally made with lamb meat. Tandir is cooked in a pit lined with clay.http://www.helloturkey.net/cuisine.html http://www.turkish-cuisine.org/english/pages.php?ParentID=1&FirstLevel=8

• Mixing bowls
• Whisk
• Barbecue or indoor grill
• 8, 10 inch metal or wooden skewers
• 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurthttp://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/spicy-lamb-shish-kebabs
• 1 tablespoon hot paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakeshttp://www.chiff.com/recipe/pages/10481.htm
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
• Kosher salt to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 pounds lean leg of lamb, trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1 pound of zucchini, cut into 1 inch cubes

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/cooking-live/shish-kebab-recipe/index.html?rsrc=search

Instructions

1. Prepare the lamb and place into a mixing bowl. Set aside.
2. Into a separate large mixing bowl, add the Greek yogurt, garlic cloves, and olive oil. Mix well with a whisk incorporating the olive oil.
3. Add hot paprika, cumin, allspice, red pepper flakes, kosher salt, and black pepper to the mixing bowl. Mix well.
4. Add the lamb to the Greek yogurt marinade and coat well. Marinate for 3 hours in the refrigerator.
5. If you are using wooden skewers, soak in water for about 30 minutes.
6. Remove lamb from the refrigerator and let sit for about 10 to 20 minutes.
7. Preheat the grill.
8. Prepare the zucchini.
9. Make the shish kebabs by placing the lamb and zucchini onto the skewers. Brush on some olive oil and season with salt and black pepper.
10. Cook the lamb shish kebabs on the grill until browned.
11. Serve with pita bread and a dipping sauce.

• Mixing bowls
• Whisk
• Barbecue or indoor grill
• Wood or metal skewers
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
• 3/4 pound cherry tomatoes
• 1 pound baby eggplant, cut crosswise into 3/4 inch thick slices
• 10 ounces cremini mushrooms, with the bottoms trimmed
• Yellow bell pepper, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubeshttp://www.aubergines.org/recipes.php?eggplant=2257
• Red bell pepper, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
• Green bell pepper, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 large red onion, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 yellow squash, cut into 1 inch cubeshttp://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/67/Grilled_Vegetable_Shish_Kebabs20291.shtml
• 1 pound zucchini, cut into 1 inch cubes

Vinaigrette

• 1/2 cup white wine vinegarhttp://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Vegetable-Kebabs-235477
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 1/4 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
• 1 cup olive oil

Instructions

1. Prepare the cherry tomatoes, eggplant, cremini mushrooms, bell peppers, red onion, yellow squash, and zucchini. Place into a large mixing bowl.
2. Coat the vegetables with 1/4 cup of olive oil, and season with 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and 3/4 teaspoon of black pepper. Set aside.
3. Preheat the grill.
4. Make the vinaigrette by adding white wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil. Mix with a whisk and incorporate the olive oil.
5. Add garlic, sugar, salt, and black pepper. Dissolve the sugar.
6. Place the vegetables onto the skewers.
7. Cook the vegetable shish kebabs on the grill until browned. Baste with the vinaigrette.
8. Serve with pita bread and a dipping sauce.

• It is common to serve a dipping sauce with the shish kebabs and there are a number of sauces that can be used. Tahini sauce is popular in the Middle East and the Mediterranean.

• Whisk
• Mixing bowl
• Serving bowl
• 2 garlic cloves, finely choppedhttp://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Tahini-Sauce-109039
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
• 1/2 cup tahini paste, well stirred, store bought or homemadehttp://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/tahini_sauce.html
• 2 teaspoons honeyhttp://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/moroccan-burritos-with-tahini-herb-sauce-recipe2/index.html
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

Tahini Paste

• 3/4 pound sesame seedshttp://www.ochef.com/r264.htm
• 2 teaspoons plus 3 tablespoons peanut oil
• Salt to taste (optional)

Instructions

1. If you are making your own tahini, toast the sesame seeds in a 350 F oven for about 20 minutes.
2. Place into the food processor or mortar and pestle, and grind into a paste. Grind 2 teaspoons of peanut oil into the paste, and add 3 more tablespoons or until desired consistence is reached. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.
3. Can be seasoned with salt.
4. To make the tahini sauce, finely chop the garlic into a paste with 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt. Add to a mixing bowl.
5. Add 1/2 cup of tahini paste, honey, lemon juice, water, olive oil, cilantro, parsley, cumin. Mix well.
6. Serve with shish kebabs as a dipping sauce.