The foods of my childhood are not the easiest to make at home. Shawarma, felafel, samosa, mutabal. I’m glad there are restaurants in Manila that serve these dishes, but of course it would be great if I could make them at home too.

I found an old online magazine that had a recipe for easy beef kebabs, and when I tried it, it turned out well! But I can’t seem to find that page anymore, so I had to look up a new one. I found one that had mostly the same ingredients and procedure, and I was happy to find it was written by an actual Middle Eastern woman.

Ingredients

• Ground beef
• Egg
• Garlic: Chopped as finely as possible
• Turmeric
• Salt and Pepper
• Butter

Procedure

1. In a bowl, mix beef, egg, garlic, turmeric, salt and pepper. Add other spices as you like. Mix well.
2. Form the mixture into logs or balls. Some recipes recommend using metal or wooden skewers, but I find it works fine without.
3. Cook: Grilled is best! I use an electric grill because it’s just easier, but a charcoal grill would be great too. But sometimes I don’t have the patience for either, so I just pop the kebabs onto a metal pan and cook it in the oven.
4. Serve with a yogurt dip, a green salad, and/or some curry. It’s great with rice or pita bread.

Enjoy!