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Place the lamb cubes in a mixing bowl.
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2
Squeeze the lime juice into a blender.
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3
Add the ginger, garlic, 1 red onion, salt, green papaya, and green chilies and blend until smooth.
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4
Pour over the lamb and toss to coat.
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5
Marinate the lamb for at least 4 hours in the refrigerator.
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6
Cut the remaining onion into eighths and then separate the layers.
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7
Cut the bell pepper into pieces that match the size of the onion pieces.
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8
Thread the lamb and the onions and peppers, alternating pieces on the skewers.
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9
Heat the grill.
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10
Brush the kababs generously with the mustard oil and place on the grill.
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11
Cook for about 10 minutes on each side.
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12
Brush with mustard oil again and sprinkle with the nigella seeds and panch phoron and cook for another 5 to 7 minutes on each side.
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Serve hot!
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14
Panch Phoron: Bengali Five Spice Blend
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15
Every existenceno matter how simpleis in some way tinged with the myriad flavors of life.
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This is often a composition of sweet, sour, bitter, savory, and the astringent, much like the five-spice blend we Bengalis call panch phoron.
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The Bengali Five Spice Blend is a blend of five whole spices in equal proportions; cumin seeds, mustard seeds, nigella seeds, fenugreek seeds, and fennel seeds.
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The fenugreek is a substitution for the spice called radhuni (a form of celery seed relatively uncommon outside of India).
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The actual panch phoron, however, is available in most Indian stores, often transliterated as panch puran.
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It is almost impossible to prepare a Bengali meal without using the panch phoron blend, and the individual spices are also important and form the basis of the Bengali pantry.
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The Bengali kitchen is typified by the scent of the mustard oil heating, followed by the crackling sound of the essential five-spice mixture.
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The crackling is almost immediately followed by the fragrance of cumin, nigella, and fennel merging into a union of scents.
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23
The popping of whole seeds in oil to add flavor to a dish is a hallmark of Indian cooking.
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This process adds a nutty taste to the seeds and mellows and matures their flavor.
