When I was in Beijing many years ago I visited a night market with hundreds of food stalls. One of the most popular dish was lamb kebabs from Xinjiang. Xinjiang is region located in North West China  bordering many countries including Mongolia, Russia, Pakistan and India. I loved the kebab and was fascinated by the spices. It was the first time I tasted cumin.  

My version of lamb kebabs uses cumin, Sichuan pepper, chili flake, coriander seeds, sesame seeds and  sesame oil. I first marinated the lamb in cumin, salt and sesame oil. Then I made the kebabs and cooked them on the BBQ. Finally I added additional spices and sea salt to the kebabs.  The kebabs were juicy and spicy.

Ingredients

(Makes 16 sticks, serves 16 as a FODMAP recipe)

Marinate:

• 1kg lamb leg, diced
• 2 tbsp. sesame oil
• a few pinches of salt
• 2 tsp ground cumin

Spice mix for coating:

• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander seeds
• 1 tbsp. sesame seeds, lightly toasted
• 1/2 tsp chili flake (or to taste)
• 1/2 tsp black Sichuan pepper, crushed
• a few pinches of sea salt flake

Others

• Sesame oil for brushing the kebab
• Cooking oil for brushing the BBQ

Method

• Marinate the lamb pieces with the marinate ingredients, leave in fridge over night
• Thread the lamb pieces onto sticks to make 16 kebabs
• For the spice mix, heat up a heavy base frying pan to hot temperature; remove it from heat, add all spices including the sesame seeds; toss lightly for 20 seconds or until the mix slightly aromatic
• Brush the BBQ with some cooking oil, grill the lamb kebabs until just cooked
• Brush the kebabs with a little sesame oil; then coat the kebabs with the spice mix.

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