Any kind of kabab is a dish to be relished. Hot, may be wrapped on a skewer (kaathi), served with slices of raw onions and a slice of lemon, mint chutney to dip it into, oh my God, they will just melt in your mouth.
Back when I was in Hyderabad (a city in Southern India) I was a frequent visitor of any place selling kababs / biryani. What I am talking about here is may be a small joint by the road, but the varieties of kababs they would sell and the taste of kababs would be so mouth-watering. Hyderabad is popularly known as the 'City of Nababs' which basically means city of rulers and kababs was a royal dish back then and hence the popularity of kababs there!!
Here in USA we do get kababs, but of course they are nothing like how they are back in India. Other cuisines / eateries like Lebanese, Middle Eastern etc. do offer some variety. So one fine day I decided on making them at home.
So it was Chicken Sheekh Kababs that day. Sheekh Kababs are basically minced meat, mixed with a variety of spices and grilled on skewers in the tandoor (clay oven). At the cost of exaggeration I am saying that those kababs turned out awesome and were nothing less than what would have come out of a 5-star restaurant in India. Between the two of us they just vanished from the plate in 5 minutes.
What all I used :
(Makes about 8 - 10 kababs)
- Boneless Chicken - 1 lb (about 500 gms)
- Egg - 1
- Cashew - 1/3 cup
- Cream - 2 Tbsp
- Ginger Garlic paste - 5 tsp
- Green chillies - 4
- Coriander leaves - 1 cup
- Garam Masala - 1 tsp
- Butter - 2 Tbsp
- Vegetable oil - for brushing
- Salt - to taste
Accompaniments -
- Lemon
- Onions, cucumber etc.
- Mint chutney
How I made it :
- Soak the cashews in about 2 cups of boiling water, for about half an hour.
- Drain the water now and put the cashews in a food processor.
- Add the egg and the cream to it.
- Blend to a coarse paste. (Remember not to add any water).
- Cut the chicken into smaller chunks / pieces (this way its easier to mince them).
- Chop the green chillies.
- Sort out the coriander leaves, keeping the tender stalks. Wash them nicely.
- Chop the coriander leaves.
- Put the chicken, chopped green chillies and coriander leaves, ginger garlic paste, garam masala, salt into the food processor now.
- Process until the texture is smooth.
- Take the mixture out and put in an airtight container and refrigerate for an hour at least.
- Pre-heat the broiler.
- Take the skewers and brush them with oil.
- Take out the cold mixture and make 8 - 10 portions out of it (each would be just enough mixture that comes out in one scoop of your palms).
- Take each portion and wrap it around the skewer, keeping the length at about 6 inches.
- Put a aluminium foil on your baking tray. Brush it lightly with oil.
- Put the skewers on the tray, keeping marginal distance between two skewers (as they are not going to expand much).
- Put the tray inside the oven, on the lower rack. Let it cook for about 4 minutes.
- Meanwhile, melt the butter.
- Take out the tray now and brush with the melted butter.
- Cook for about a minute now.
- Take the tray out again and carefully turn over the skewers.
- Brush with the remaining butter and cook for about 2 minutes more.
- Take the kababs out now and let them rest for about 5 minutes.
- Slowly push the kababs out of the skewers.
Eat only when they are hot and fresh, that is the alsi mazaa (real fun)!!
Note :
Note :
- If you using packeted minced chicken, put all other things to blend together and then you can mix them with the minced chicken in a bowl.
- Be careful to mold the mixture onto the skewer as it will be very sticky. You can use a bowl of cold water to dip your hands in and then put the mixture onto the skewers.
- Make your desired sized kababs, but the regular size is 6 inches and also that they are easier to handle this way.
- Try and keep the size of the kababs uniform.
- No harm if you refrigerate the mixture overnight. You could also refrigerate the mixture for 24 hours and then use it.
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