
Kebabs are a popular dish not only in Indian cuisine but also in in Middle Eastern countries and was brought to India by the Mughal rulers who came from Persia and Afghanistan. These kebabs are pan-fried delicate kebabs made with ground chicken. Chicken can also be substituted with lamb and the kebabs will taste juicier. I use chicken as a healthier option.
Kebabs are terrific cocktail snacks or an evening meal when served with warm flatbread and mint chutney. You could also make these kebabs in advance and refrigerate them until use.
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 15-20 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
Boneless chicken – either thighs or breast pieces (800 gms)
Ginger – 1 inch piece
Garlic – 7-8 pods
Egg – 1, beaten until frothy
Corn flour – 1 tbsp.
Rice flour – 1 tbsp.
Red Onion – 1 large, chopped fine
1 green chili – chopped fine, omit this in case you do not like spicy food
Soya sauce – 3 tsp.
Coriander leaves – ½ cup, chopped fine
Seekh Kebab masala – Store bought or you could add, a mix of 1 tsp of turmeric powder, coriander powder, garam masala, cinnamon powder and chat masala in equal quantities
Salt – 2 tbsp. (if using store bought kebab masala, alter the quantity of salt as the masala already has some salt it in)
Melted butter – 1 cup
Method:
Cut the chicken pieces into 1-inch pieces and mince them in a food processor until coarse. I like to keep my mince a bit coarse to give texture to the kebabs. But if you prefer smoother kebabs, you can mince until the chicken is fine.
Grind the ginger and garlic to a fine paste.
Once the chicken mince is ready, transfer the mince into a large mixing bowl. Now add the rest of the ingredients into the mixing along and mix the chicken mince with the other ingredients either by hand or a wooden spoon. I prefer using my hands since it coats the ingredients evenly with the meat. The mixture should be a bit sticky and not runny. If it is runny, you can add more corn-starch to bind the mix.
Once the mixture is ready, cover with a cling film and refrigerate for 30 min. After 30 min. remove the mixture and keep your seekh sticks or satay sticks ready.
Now grease the palm of your hands and make small balls of the minced kebabs. Thread each meatball into the sticks gently and wrap the chicken mix evenly around the stick. If the mixture sticks to your hands, grease them with oil again. Wrap the chicken by rotating the skewer and pressing the meat gently with greased fingers. Alternatively you could also make sausage like cylindrical rolls without the sticks.
Heat a grill pan over medium to high heat and grease it with oil or butter. Keep some melted butter in a bowl for greasing the kebabs while they cook. Once the pan is sizzling hot, put the kebabs on the grill pan and cook for 2 minutes of each side gently turning the kebabs to cook them evenly. Keep brushing melted butter on the kebabs so that they do not stick to the pan. Each stick or kebab should not take more than 8-10 minutes to cook.
Serve hot kebabs with mint chutney and lemony red onion salad.