Shish Kebab

I have to say from the start, this is my dear father's most loved recipe.  The smell of this kebab means home to me.  I know it's a very classical Turkish dish but before you start yawning let me tell you,  once you taste this, then you can tell the difference between a real kebab and the ones you ate so called kebabs here and there.  I made this one last weekend, because it was such a lovely weather and we decided to grill.  We generally eat this back home with some green salad, grilled vegetables and cacik (garlic, cucumber, yogurt mix).  Of course, with some lovely Turkish flat bread to wrap it up.  ( Instead, I made my mother's potato salad with the kebab and I will be writing its recipe in my next post.)  The secret of this kebab is the marinade sauce, which gives meat the appetizing smell and taste.  Here is what I've done different this time, I used beef instead of lamb, because that is what I had at home.  However, I'm going to write you the recipe with both because the original kebabs use lamb, but if you prefer beef that's absolutely fine and still very tasty. 

Shish Kebab

(Makes about 6)

700-800 g lamb or beef (from the leg or tender cuts like loin) - cut into cubes

6 skewers (metal or wooden)

Marinade:

1 clove of garlic - crushed

1 tablespoon of tomato pure

1/2 tablespoon of chili paste

1 tablespoon of olive oil 

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of pepper

1 teaspoon of crushed chilies (optional)

To prepare the marinade, crush your garlic with garlic crusher or a mortar and pestle.  Put it in a bowl and add all other ingredients for the marinade.  When it's all ready rub the mixture on the meat and leave the meat to marinade for 2 hours in the fridge.  You can also prepare this a day before and leave it over the night.  Once ready, thread the meat on skewers and cook them on a preheated grill until the meat is brown on the outside.  Repeat the same on all sides of the meat until it's brown on every side.  Make sure not to overcook it, otherwise the meat will not be tender.  Enjoy it on some warm Turkish bread, if you can find some, otherwise some Naan or Arabic bread will do as well.