Mama Rafi Home-Made Turkish Kebab

Here is a delicious savory snack that is perfect to serve when friends, colleagues, or family visit your home.

Prepare a minimum of 60 minutes as there are several steps involved, starting from making the kebab wrapper, preparing the meat and vegetable fillings, to cooking and serving.

Without further ado, here is the recipe for Mama Rafi’s popular Turkish kebab:

60 minutes

8 servings

Preparation:

Wrapper ingredients:

• 250 grams all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons cooking oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons cooking oil

Fillings ingredients:

• 1/2 kg beef, thinly sliced (can be substituted with thinly sliced chicken fillet)
• 3 red chilies (can add more for extra spiciness)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 cm ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Palma Black Pepper (to taste)
• Salt (to taste)
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 100 ml plain yogurt (or Greek-style yogurt)
• Butter for sautéing the meat filling

Vegetable fillings:

• Lettuce leaves (sliced)
• Tomato (sliced)
• Onion (sliced)

Dipping sauce (optional):

• Mayonnaise
• Chili sauce
• Plain yogurt

Cooking Steps:

Making the wrapper:

1. Combine the following ingredients in order: all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, granulated sugar in a mixing bowl, mix well. Add cooking oil and mix with hands until crumbly.
2. Gradually add hot milk to the mixture, knead until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. If the dough is not smooth enough, add more hot milk gradually while kneading.
3. Cover the dough with cling wrap or a clean cloth and let it rest for 30 minutes.
4. While waiting, see below for the steps to prepare the meat filling.
5. After 30 minutes, dust some flour on the work surface, then divide the dough into 8 separate balls, approximately 30 grams each, and let the dough rest for another 30 minutes.
6. While waiting, you can prepare the meat and vegetable fillings.
7. Take one dough ball, flatten it with a wooden rolling pin into a round and thin shape. Use a round plate to cut the dough into a perfect circle.
8. Heat a non-stick pan, add butter, and grill the dough over low heat.
9. Flip the kebab wrapper when it starts to bubble, grill until cooked and brown spots appear.
10. Set aside the kebab wrappers while we cook the meat filling.

Making the meat fillings:

1. Grind or finely pound the red chilies, garlic, ginger, and coriander until smooth. Add salt, black pepper, dried oregano, dried basil, and yogurt, mix well.
2. Clean the beef, tenderize it by pounding, coat it with the spice mixture from step 1, and let it marinate for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to infuse.
3. Heat a non-stick pan, melt butter, and sauté the marinated meat filling until cooked.

Making the veggie fillings:

1. Clean the lettuce leaves, tomato, and onion, drain and slice them.
2. Heat a non-stick pan, melt butter, and sauté the sliced onions until wilted.

Serving:

1. Take the grilled kebab wrapper, spread with sauce (optional), then fill it with sliced lettuce, tomato, onion, and meat.
2. Brush with sauce (optional) once more before folding the kebab wrapper lengthwise, and the delicious Mama Rafi’s Turkish Kebab is ready to be served.