Mishkak

Ingredients

Meat

• 1 kglamb or beef
• in 3 cm cubes
• some fat left on

The marinade

• 4 tablespoonstamarind pulp
• soaked and strained
• 6garlic cloves, crushed
• 3cm ginger, grated
• 2 tablespoonsoil
• 1 tablespoonground cumin
• 1 tablespoonground coriander
• 2 teaspoonschilli powder
• 1 teaspoonground turmeric
• 1 teaspoonblack pepper
• 2 teaspoonssalt

To baste

• more tamarind pulp
• thinned with water
• a little oil

To serve

• khubz or rukhal bread
• chilli sauce
• raw onion
• lime wedges

Directions

1. Soak it in warm water for twenty minutes. Discard the fibres and stones entirely. Smoke drifts right down the street. Cut the meat into even sized cubes. Aim for about three centimetres. Take some time over the cutting. Leave some soft fat on the cubes. Trim only hard sinew and gristle.
2. Soak the tamarind in warm water. Give it about twenty full minutes. Work it with your fingers to break it up. It should be like a thick sauce.
3. Add more water if it is too stiff. It must be pourable to marinate with. Put the tamarind pulp in a large bowl. Add the crushed garlic and grated ginger. Add all of the ground spices to it. Add the oil and all of the salt. Stir it into a thick loose paste. Combining it takes only a moment.
4. Put the meat cubes into the marinade. Turn them so they are all coated well. Cover the bowl and refrigerate it. Give it at least four full hours. Put wooden skewers in cold water.
5. Let them soak for thirty minutes. Dry wood catches fire over charcoal. Thread the cubes onto the skewers. Put four or five cubes on each one. But do not compress them hard. Wait until it is covered in grey ash. Never grill over flames at any point. Keep the skewers a little above the coals. Thin some tamarind pulp with water.
6. Add a little oil into it as well. Grilling them takes about fifteen minutes. Lay the skewers on the hot grill. Give them about three minutes. Turn them all over with tongs. Brush them with the basting mixture. Turn and baste them every few minutes.
7. Keep doing that right as they cook. Four or five turns is about right. Let the skewers sit for two minutes. Do not rest them long or they cool. Serve warm flatbread with them. Khubz or thin rukhal bread is used. Put chilli sauce out beside them. Add thinly sliced raw onion as well. It must be eaten hot from the grill.

Technique

• Tamarind is what distinguishes mishkak from other skewers: it goes into both the marinade and the basting, tenderises the surface, balances the fat and char, and caramelises on the grill into a sticky sour glaze. Block tamarind must be soaked twenty minutes and pushed through a sieve, discarding the fibres and stones.
• Baste and turn every few minutes, four or five times over the cooking: each coat caramelises before the next goes on, and that layering is what builds the glaze. Tamarind contains sugar and burns, so watch it once the glaze builds and move the skewer to a cooler spot if it darkens fast.
• The atlas also carries mishkaki from Tanzania — the same word in Swahili — and masikita from Madagascar, which descends from the same root again. Omani traders sailed the Indian Ocean for centuries and Oman ruled Zanzibar for a long period, and the word and the food travelled with them; they are relatives rather than one dish.

Substitutions

• Beef stands in for lamb and both are grilled.
• Metal skewers avoid soaking; dry wooden ones catch fire over charcoal.

Variations

• Grill over grey-ashed coals at a moderate heat, since tamarind and ground spices burn easily over fierce heat.
• The stalls set up after sunset, when the daytime heat has gone and people come out.
• The meat is pulled off the skewer into khubz or thin rukhal bread to eat.

History

Marinated meat skewers grilled on street corners after sunset and sold with flatbread.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mishkak?

Mishkak is a street food from Oman: charcoal meat skewers brushed with tamarind, sold roadside at dusk. Marinated meat skewers grilled on street corners after sunset and sold with flatbread.

How long does Mishkak take to make?

Mishkak takes 30 minutes plus marinating of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Mishkak?

Yes, within limits. Beef stands in for lamb and both are grilled. Metal skewers avoid soaking; dry wooden ones catch fire over charcoal.

What is the most important thing to get right in Mishkak?

Add more water if it is too stiff. It must be pourable to marinate with. Put the tamarind pulp in a large bowl. Add the crushed garlic and grated ginger. Add all of the ground spices to it. Add the oil and all of the salt. Stir it into a thick loose paste. Combining it takes only a moment.