Seekh kababs probably made their way to India from Persia. They are made with minced meat that has been lightly spiced and grilled over charcoal fire. I ate seekh kababs for the first time when my cousin who was visiting us in Bangalore, brought them over from Fanoos, a restaurant that still operates near Johnson Market in Richmond Town. They were delicious! However that was the only time I ate seekh kababs before I left India. My parents were wary of them since one could not predict what went into them, there was always the fear that they contained organ meat or other meat such as beef that was not eaten at home. I started experimenting with kababs when I started grilling and here is a recipe that I came up with. In a classic recipe, spices and seasonings are finely ground so that one only experiences the texture of the meat. In this recipe, you can taste the onions and herbs that are chopped finely, so along with the meat, you can taste the onions and herbs.
Ingredients
- Ground Meat (Chicken/Turkey/Lamb) - 1 lb
- Onion - 1 medium size
- Green Chillies - 5
- Garlic - 4 cloves
- Ginger - 1 inch
- Cilantro - 1 small bunch
- Mint - few leaves
- Garam Masala powder - 1/2 tsp
- Oil - 1 tbsp
- Salt - to taste
Instructions
Chop the onions, ginger, garlic, cilantro, green chillies and mint leaves finely. A food processor can also be used.
In a bowl, mix the chopped ingredients along with salt, garam masala powder and oil.
Add the ground meat to the bowl and mix well.
Marinate the mixture in a refrigerator for a couple of hours. I normally let it marinate overnight.
The kababs can be grilled on a charcoal grill or baked in an oven. I used an oven this time.
Preheat the oven to 400 F (approx 200 C).
Shape the meat into cylindrical kababs and place them on a grill with a tray underneath to collect the drippings. Alternatively, you can use skewers.
Bake the kababs in the oven for about 15 minutes. Flip them over and let them bake for an additional 10 minutes.
If you like to brown the kababs a little, you can broil them for a couple of minutes.
Serve hot with green chutney, chopped onions and lime wedges.
Note:
- Aparna usually oils the inside of a ziplock quart bag and then puts the meat in the bag, cuts one of the edges and squeezes the bag to force the ground meat mixture into kababs of desired length and size. Please remember to cut the edge of the bag depending on the diameter of the kababs that you desire.
- The time to cook the kababs will vary with your oven, diameter of the kababs and the meat used. I used ground turkey for this recipe.
5 Comments
K-Bab
August 20, 2013 at 6:22 amMy own humble take on this all time great:
500 grams of regular lamb mince from Wollworths
500 grams of diced lamb (spin this in a food processor for about 4-5 minutes till you get a chunky mince)
Huge bunch of mint 12-18 stalks
3-4 green chillies
150-175 grams of minced garlic
2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon cardamon powder
200 grams of brown fried onions (preferably crispy not burnt)
Marination
take the mint and green chillies spin it in a food processor real fine, including the stalks till you get a green paste. Add the garlic, garam masala and cardamom powder to the green paste. Add this mixture to the lamb mince (both the regular and minced lamb). Add the fried onions and use both hands to incorporate the marinate to the lamb really well. Thoroughly mix the green paste and lamb till the mixture looks semi green, add the fried onions and mix well again. take the marinaded lamb and place it in the chiller section of your fridge preferably over night. Next day 9after 12 hours minimum, take the kabab mixture out of the fridge and get it to room temperature. Next taken wooden / metal skewers after the kabab mixture is at room temperature. Place on a skillet or grill turning continuously, 6-7 minutes is all it takes, take care not to burn the lamb. Serve with raw onions, coriander and lemon. It tastes awesome, will get you a few pictures soon, Bab
Rajesh
August 25, 2013 at 10:58 pmBab, sounds delicious, I will give this a try!
anoo
August 26, 2013 at 11:51 amhi, can this be shallow fried on a tawa? as ‘B’ is veggie,i want to make a small portion for myself.hence heating a huge oven for 3-4 kababs doesn’t make sense.
can i shape it like a cutlet and shallow fry?
Rajesh
August 26, 2013 at 10:02 pmAnoo, it can certainly be shallow fried like cutlets. If you want to make it crispy, you could use bread crumbs.
anoo
August 29, 2013 at 8:32 amthanx.will try and let u know