What's for dinner?

I am glad to say that I am not a total amateur when it comes to some things.  In fact, I would go as far as saying that I am actually very very good at one thing...and that is cooking!

I come from a background that involved food.  My parents were restaurateurs (now retired) and my father a chef.  My mother ruled the roost at home and I have nothing but fond memories of all the delicious meals she would make.  Unfortunately, my repertoire only stretches to making middle eastern or Persian dishes so whilst I learn to make a mean beef stroganoff or simple chicken pie (from scratch of course) you will have to bear with recipes that I've learned over the years that are a hit in any Persian household.

Yesterday, I had no idea what to make for dinner for the children.  I could have done a quick pasta but was bored with the idea myself as we'd only had pasta a few days ago so as I had some minced beef out already, I decided to make something that I grew up on.  Pan fried kebabs served with fluffy white rice.

For this, you need a very good non stick frying pan.  Mine isn't a good one..as you can see from the picture, the kebabs were a little *over-done* and that is due to the pan being no good after many years of being used to the brink of it's own extinction.  The tomatoes make a good mixer with the white rice because there is no sauce.  Iranians mix butter with their rice to make it less dry but tomatoes work just as well and is a slightly healthier option.

You can also add any kind of vegetables you want, it really doesn't matter.  We had mushrooms in so I just simply sauteed them in the pan with the tomatoes after the kebabs were made.

All you need is:

500g minced beef (or lamb)
1 medium onion, grated
2 heaped tbsp natural breadcrumbs
1tsp turmeric (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Mix everything by hand in a bowl and make as many oval kebabs as you can.  Don't make them too thick otherwise they will take longer to cook through and end up burning on the outside.  Don't make the pan too hot and use 2 tbsp cooking oil and keep turning the kebabs.  Have a plate ready at the side for the ones that get done first and as you get space add the others otherwise you'll end up taking forever.  We like to have crunchy vegetables with our meals so I have added radishes as a complement but a fresh salad will do the trick and give a bit more colour to the meal.

If you don't fancy rice with it, pitta bread will do just as good.  The preparation takes a bit of time but trust me, it will only take five minutes to eat it all and the children will LOVE it!