Ponga Kebabs
Ingredients:
1) 5 or 6 chicken breasts/ lamb pieces
2) Ginger
3) Whole garlic
4) Tumeric
5) Coriander
6) Cumin
7) Green chillies
8) Salt
9) Curd
10) 500g flour - wholegrain / self-raising
11) Bicarb of soda / yeast
12) Oil
13) Lime
14) 1 red onion
15) Ghee / clarified butter
Method:
Cut five or six chicken breasts (or lamb pieces) into cubes to marinate. This marinade is a paste of ground fresh ginger, a pod of garlic and a large spoonful each of turmeric, ground coriander and cumin, with green chillies and salt to taste. Stir in a pot of unsweetened curd or tire, as the Anglo-Indians call it, and mix it all with the meat to marinate – the longer the better.
For the ponga wraps, you’ll need about 500g of flour (I prefer a mix of wholegrain and white self-raising) plus a couple of teaspoons of bicarb of soda, or yeast if you have time. Add a little oil and enough water to make a heavy dough, dry enough to roll. Cover with a kitchen towel for a few hours and put in a warm place to let the yeast or soda work.
When the meat is ready, skewer it into kebabs, with as much of the marinade as you can, and cook them on a barbeque. When cooked, squeeze a lime over the kebabs and sprinkle them with freshly chopped onion.
Roll the dough into a long cylinder and cut it into as many pongas as you want. Roll each piece into a flat circle, spreading the surface with a little ghee of clarified butter. Cut a line from the middle of the circle to the edge and roll one end around the circle until you have a cone shape. Cook this on both sides on a barbeque or grill, until you see the bread puff up and turn slightly brown on the outside.
Your pongas are now ready to fill by removing the skewers from the meat and rolling the kebabs and red onion in the bread pongas. This is an excellent dish for picnics.