Seekh Kebab
These famous savoury appetizers are a staple of Indian restaurants, but are notoriously difficult to replicate at home. I’ve experimented with different mixes and through trial and error, have perfected a simple and effective method of producing batch after batch of piquant, melt in the mouth Seekh Kebabs.
Equipment
- Charcoal BBQ
- Metal Skewers 8-10mm thickness
Ingredients
- 2 kg lamb or beef mince Min 80:20 Meat to fat ratio. Ideally 70:30. I used Hill Farm Finest mince. They now do a seekh kebab mince.
- 2 medium onions diced and moisture squeezed out
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1½ tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp minced green chilli
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 pack Shan seekh kebab masala
- ⅔ cup coriander leaves chopped
Beetroot chutney
- 50 g cooked beetroot (vacuum sealed) Coarse grated. Run twice through a box grater.
- 100 g tomato ketchup
- ½ small onion diced (optional)
- ½ tsp cumin powder
- chilli powder to taste
- salt to taste
Instructions
What mince do I get from the butcher?
- I prepared the Seekh kebabs with normal lamb kebab mince (from the offcuts), as it has an appropriate meat to fat ratio of 80:20.If your meat doesn’t have enough fat, the kebabs will be dry. If there’s too much fat they will fall off the skewers during cooking. Ask your butcher to mince the meat twice, as it gives a finer texture to the kebabs. The mutton from the butcher will have a mottled fat appearance running through the mince.
- DO NOT WASH YOUR MINCE!
- It’s against the traditional teaching of Indian mothers but trust me you have to throw away the rule book for these kebabs!!! The idea behind this is to ensure that we have a sticky, fatty mix that will adhere to your skewers. Any sort of moisture is the enemy of all kebabs!
Recipe instructions
- Use a food processor to mince two medium-sized onions.
- Squeeze out the onion juice using a muslin cloth.
- Add the minced onions into the minced meat.
- Add the rest of the ingredients.
- Including the Shan seekh kebab masala.
- Mix well until the mixture starts to stick to your hands.
- Refrigerate for at least an hour.
- Light your BBQ coals.
Loading the skewers
- Use 8-10mm metal skewers.
- Lightly wet your hand and pick up a ball of mixture, squeeze between your fingers and thumb whilst working downwards until the skewer is uniformly covered with meat mixture and you can't see any meat gaps.
- Wet your hand again, pinch both edges and make a pattern with your index finger and thumb.
- Make sure you can't see any of the meat skewer.
- Remember, practice makes perfect!
How to grill the Sheekh Kebabs
- Make a layer of charcoal and lower your charcoal grate to the lowest setting. Place the skewers over the smouldering charcoal.
- ¼ turn every 15 to 30s, depending on the intensity of the heat.Hotter grills will require more frequent turning.
- Tip: Have a cool zone without any coal.
- The fat slowly melts and drips down onto the fiery embers, which then vapourises the fat, giving a distinctive smoky flavour to the kebabs.
- Turn frequently to achieve an even browning on all four sides. The kebabs are ready when they have a golden colour across all sides.
How to remove the cooked kebabs from the skewers
- Use your hands (if you have asbestos hands) to pull the kebabs clean off the skewer.
- Or use a pair of tongs.
- Ensure you wash and allow your skewers to cool before attempting to load further skewers, otherwise the kebabs will not stick.
Making a Kebab roll
- Serve with beetroot chutney, coriander and mint chutney, minted onions and freshly made naan.
- Chalo Kebab roll kawa!
- Wow. Better than any takeaway.
Beetroot Chutney Recipe
- Mix all the ingredients together.
- Add more ketchup if the chutney is too earthy for you.
- Additional information regarding the Beetroot chutney.
Any questions
- How do you remove the blood, if you dont wash the meat?
- Do you need a binder, such as egg or breadcrumbs?
- Why squeeze out the moisture from the kebabs?
- Where did you buy the skewers from?Check out my Amazon page for my recommendations https://amzn.to/3P7hyb6
- What are the alternatives, if you dont have a BBQ?
- OMG. I've always been taught to wash my meat. Do I need to wash for mince based curries too?
- What about boiling the mince before cooking curries?
Assalaamu alaykum,
JazakAllah for the detailed instructions. I will be trying this out for the first time.
After refrigerating the kebab mix, does it need to be to be brought to room temperature before cooking? Or straight from the fridge onto the skewer?
Load the skewers using cold mixture, directly from the refrigerator. This will allow the mixture to stick better.