Folly Kebabs

Devilled Folly Kebabs

It seems like my life as a road warrior was pre-destined long before my arrival on the planet and it shows no sign of abating. Travelling through the Telly Tubby hills of the Cotswolds, I spot a vast column piercing the horizon like a Babel Tower rising to meet the cloud line in a Jack and the Beanstalk attempt. Its’ foundations are vast and as I near the site the base of this column spreads into a vast neo-classical stately property, possibly built by a wealthy wool merchant satisfying his flagrant display of affluence. In fact the column is an oversized ornate chimney defying its surroundings and clearly not built for its original purpose of channelling smoke. This chimney is nothing short of an architectural folly, a thing of whimsy with no regard for construction budgets. Britain’s rural landscape accommodates a legacy of Georgian and Victorian architectural follies built as edifices to the wealth of the industrialised nouveau riche. They often strike a comical and individual pose amongst a backdrop of serious maturity.

Folly seems to be seriously lacking in our 21st Century sophistication. My case for folly is that it contributes an upside down piece of punctuation to our daily dialogue, an alternative way of looking at things, a fresh perspective, gently playful and mildly eccentric, a hallmark of British character. My endowment to spiced Indian food folly is a healthy obsession with kebabs and in this case I’ve re-engineered the humble egg into something altogether more opulent. It’s time for a double take glance at these Devilled Egg Kebabs.

Serves 4-6

  • 6 large eggs
  • 1 finger chilli, finely chopped
  • 4 tbs cooked lamb or beef mince
  • ½ tbs gram flour
  • ½ tsp ground pomegranate seeds known Anardanha
  • 2 tbs chopped coriander
  • 1 tsp chilli powder or cayenne pepper
  • 100g plain flour
  • ½ tsp garam masala
  • Salt
  • Veg or rapeseed oil for frying

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How To Make Folly Kebabs

Boil the eggs until hard-boiled approx 10 mins over a medium heat. Spoon them out and cool in a bowl of cold water. When they’ve relaxed, peel, slice in half, scoop out the yolks and set aside.

Cook the mince over medium heat in a pan of water until cooked through, around 10-15 minutes, drain thoroughly and decant into a separate bowl, allow it to cool off, Using a blender tip in the mince, gram flour, green chilli, ground pomegranate powder, coriander and pulse into a rough paste.

Take the egg halves and fill the voids with the spiced mince (keema), re-unite both halves together and pierce into place with a wooden skewer.

Sift the plain flour, chilli powder and garam masala into a bowl adding a dash of salt and gently whisk with around 120ml water to make a smooth batter, which gently drips from the whisk...makes sure it’s not too thin otherwise it won’t stick to the eggs. Make sure the eggs are dry and spoon the batter over them, covering them completely.

Using a deep skillet, heat the oil until hot enough, testing it with a drip of batter which should bubble and crust. Now fry the eggs for 3-4 minutes until the batter is a golden toffee colour, drain on kitchen paper, serve on a bed of coriander and accompany with a sweet chilli chutney.





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Devilled Folly Kebabs

It seems like my life as a road warrior was pre-destined long before my arrival on the planet and it shows no sign of abating. Travelling through the Telly Tubby hills of the Cotswolds, I spot a vast column piercing the horizon like a Babel Tower rising to meet the cloud line in a Jack and the Beanstalk attempt. Its’ foundations are vast and as I near the site the base of this column spreads into a vast neo-classical stately property, possibly built by a wealthy wool merchant satisfying his flagrant display of affluence. In fact the column is an oversized ornate chimney defying its surroundings and clearly not built for its original purpose of channelling smoke. This chimney is nothing short of an architectural folly, a thing of whimsy with no regard for construction budgets. Britain’s rural landscape accommodates a legacy of Georgian and Victorian architectural follies built as edifices to the wealth of the industrialised nouveau riche. They often strike a comical and individual pose amongst a backdrop of serious maturity.

Folly seems to be seriously lacking in our 21st Century sophistication. My case for folly is that it contributes an upside down piece of punctuation to our daily dialogue, an alternative way of looking at things, a fresh perspective, gently playful and mildly eccentric, a hallmark of British character. My endowment to spiced Indian food folly is a healthy obsession with kebabs and in this case I’ve re-engineered the humble egg into something altogether more opulent. It’s time for a double take glance at these Devilled Egg Kebabs.

Serves 4-6

  • 6 large eggs
  • 1 finger chilli, finely chopped
  • 4 tbs cooked lamb or beef mince
  • ½ tbs gram flour
  • ½ tsp ground pomegranate seeds known Anardanha
  • 2 tbs chopped coriander
  • 1 tsp chilli powder or cayenne pepper
  • 100g plain flour
  • ½ tsp garam masala
  • Salt
  • Veg or rapeseed oil for frying

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