Pakistan – Chicken Kabab

by Dahiza Umar

INTRODUCTION

Nowadays chicken Kabab is a famous Pakistani Street Food item. Kababs are the most popular in Lahore where it is sold in nearly every corner of the city. This dish is from a traditional Pakistan’s recipe that is famous and well known. One of the most popular grills and fried item around the world are definitely kabab. Chicken Kabab has also very good in taste other like beef kababs. We can make kabab out of anything even with lentils, yogurt, vegetables, and obviously from chicken and red meat in Pakistan.

Kabab also has different shapes and different cooking methods.

MAIN INGREDIENTS OF WHICH KABAB MADE

MEAT VARIETY

In meat portion as Pakistan is an Islamic country and we only consume meat :

• Chicken
• Beef
• Mutton
• Fish
• Prawns

But in other countries, kababs are made up of many other types of meat:

• Pork
• Octopus
• Shark
• Bacon, etc.

VEGETABLES VARIETY

The very famous vegetable Kababs are made up of Potato. Potato is usually a favorite vegetable around the world. How can a vegetable kabab does not have potato in it. Many mixed vegetable kababs are also made by mixing two, three vegetables even more. Potato, carrots, and corns are mixed well with flavoring and seasonings. Then shaped and cooked in the way to fry or grill.

These are the most favorite vegetables used in vegetable kababs :

• Potato
• Carrots
• Peas
• Corns
• Cabbage
• Capsicum
• Cauliflower

LENTILS KABAB

These kababs are very tasty and unique in flavors and very soft. There are huge varieties of lentils and legumes are sold all over the world but only a few lentils are used to cook these types of kababs.

• Yellow lentils
• Red lentils
• Chickpeas

OTHER KABAB INGREDIENTS

YOGURT KABAB

This is a very unique variety of kabab from which this dish is cooked. Hung yogurt is used which has very less water consistency. This is then mixed by adding some seasonings and then shape into a flat round because this batter has more like a thick paste and it is hard to shape into other designs. So thick paste of yogurt is shaped and fried to form a yogurt kabab.

CHUTNEY KABAB

Chutney can be any thick sauce used to serve with fried items and snacks. Like yogurt, a thick waterless paste is made of any sauce like tomato, green chilies, mint leaves, onions, and green coriander leaves, etc. Then this saucy kabab is made.

VARIETY OF KABABS

• Chapli kabab
• Shami kabab
• Seekh kabab
• Boti kabab
• Bihari kabab
• Tandoori kabab
• Kalmi kabab
• Bun kabab
• Galouti kabab
• Sheesh kabab
• Aloo kabab
• Hara masala kabab

SERVED WITH

This is a dish served with bread, roti, like the given below :

• Khameeri roti
• Phulka
• Paratha
• Roghani naan
• Roghani roti
• Sada roti
• Sada Naan

COMPLEMENTARY SIDE ITEMS

• Kachumbar salad
• Green chili chutney
• Tamarind chutney
• Onion tomato chutney
• Mint chutney
• Yogurt

COOKING METHODS

To cook kababs there are a few different cooking methods like the following :

GRILLING

Grilling can be done by roasting in the oven or either on the grilling pan with greasing of butter or oil. Grilling is a very healthy cooking technique. This is usually used to cook vegetable kabab because they can be easily cooked and tendered.

FRYING

Shallow frying can be used to cook Behari boti kababs because this is done by adding a small amount of oil.

Deep frying is used widely to cook kababs like any kabab can be cooked by this method. This method of cooing is very versatile used and makes the kababs delicious.

BARBECUE

The charcoal cooking method is used to cook any kabab that can be arranged in SEEKH.

• Seekh kabab
• Seekh boti kabab
• Behari boti seekh, etc.

TIME REQUIRED

• Preparation time : 20 minutes
• cooking time: 20 minutes
• Total time : 40 minutes

NUTRITIONAL ASPECTS

• Calories : 230 per kabab
• protein : 18 grams
• carbohydrates : 10 grams
• fiber : 20 gams

INGREDIENTS

• Chicken : 1 kg boneless
• Green chilies paste : 1 tbsp
• Onions : 2
• Eggs : 3
• Salt : ½  tsp
• Coriander grinded : ½ tsp
• Turmeric powder : 1 tsp
• Dried pomegranate seeds :1 tbsp
• Red pepper : ½ tsp
• Cumin : ½ tsp
• Coriander leaves : ^1/2 cup
• Plain flour : 4 tbsp
• Oil : for frying
• Ginger paste : ½ tsp
• Garlic Paste : ½ tsp
• Mint leaves : few

KABAB MIXTURE PREPARATION

• Take boneless chicken pieces and wash itproperly so no moisture and water remain in meat.
• Add chicken pieces, onion chopped, garlic chopped, ginger chopped, oil 2 tbsp, mint leaves and coriander leaves into the mixture blender.
• Chop up all ingredients together in a blender so it coverted into a paste.
• Add dry chili, spices and chili paste into chicken vegetables mixture.
• Mix them well with dry spices and mixture to assemble all ingredients.
• Now let this mixture set for 2 hours in refrigerator.
• Now after 2 hours, take small balls of mixture and covert it into kabak elongated shapes.
• From 1 kg chicken, 24 kababs can be prepared.
• Now kabab are ready to fry.

FRYING OF KABAB

• Pre heat the oil in a cooking broad pan for 5 minutes.
• Now beat 2 eggs and add some salt in it.
• Take 1 cup of plain flour on other bowl.
• Now take each kabab, dipped into the plain flour first and then coat it with eggs.
• Add fry in hot oil for minutes to complete cook the chicken on medium heat flame.
• We can grill these chicken kababs and also barbecue them.
• Serve and enjoy with mint chutney.