Ultimate Seekh Kebab Recipe – Curry On Halima

Compromising on the ingredients and the spices, etc, will alter the taste and texture; hence, I urge you all to try and adhere to the recipe as much as you can.

I kid you not folks, these kebabs are probably the yummiest I’ve made to date. The reason for this, is that everything is hand chopped and spices freshly ground. I’ve used shallots in place of onions and no powder spices whatsoever.

These kebabs contain just a few basic ingredients but, those ingredients really do make all the difference. Compromising on the ingredients and the spices, etc, will alter the taste and texture; hence, I urge you all to try and adhere to the recipe as much as you can (at least once), so you can savour the amazing taste of these kebabs.

NO PAIN, NO GAIN! The hand chopped shallots and chillies are the two main ingredients in making these kebabs. Blitzing them in a processor just won’t work. It doesn’t take long to do a little chopping, so avoid short cuts. I’m not making this point to be difficult, it’s the secret behind why these kebabs are so yummy.

Please do take a few minutes to have a read of the important cooking tips below. I’m sure they’ll answer any questions you may have.

TIPS

• Lamb mince is my preference when making these kebabs, but beef works well too. I don’t use chicken mince for this recipe, simply because it’s difficult to mould into a seekh shape, without the addition of a binding agent. If you wish to use chicken mince, I would advise shaping them into round tikkis (patties).
• I’ve used shallots because of their taste and texture. This rustic recipe doesn’t work as well with onions. If you don’t want to use shallots, use the white part of spring onions instead.
• Green chillies are the only form of spice in these kebabs. Hence it’s necessary to add more than usual. I find that for 1kg of mince, 7-8 chillies make for a very mild kebab; adding 10 makes the kebabs medium hot; a few more give the kebabs really zingy. I added 13 and my mouth wasn’t burning; the kebabs were spot on.
• It’s really important to not overcook the kebabs. Frying for too long will dry them out; hence, please do stick to the cooking times specified. It’s also very important to fry the kebabs over medium heat. Cooking over low heat will cause the kebabs to stew, which is not what you want. They just need to be seared on both sides, before being cooked on the tawa.
• If you don’t have a tawa (chapatti pan) or skillet, another frying pan will suffice.
• I never wash my mince, especially not when making kebabs. My butcher has always, upon my request, washed the meat before mincing. I’ve been to various different butchers and none have ever refused to do so.
• I used Echalion shallots from Lidl. They cost 19p per pack of 500g.

METHOD

1. Place the mince in a wide mixing bowl, sprinkle over the salt and mix well.
2. Coarsely grind together the cumin and coriander seeds, add to the mince and mix through.
3. Finely chop both the shallots and chillies (by hand), add to the mince mixture and give it a good mix.
4. Grate both the garlic and the ginger and add to the mince. Mix well.
5. Now for the taste test. Take a tsp or so of the mince, fry in oil for 30-40 secs per side. Taste for salt; add more if needed and mix the mince mixture well.
6. Chop the fresh coriander and add to the kebab mixture. Give it a really good mix. Cover with cling film and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
7. When ready to cook the kebabs, add in the 1 tbsp of oil and mix really well.
8. Now, for cooking. Heat up a frying pan and add in oil for shallow frying. I normally add enough so it’s about 1 cm high. Keep on medium heat.
9. On another hob, heat up the tawa (chapatti pan) and keep on low heat.
10. Wet your hands lightly, take a portion of the kebab mix and, using either metal or wooden skewers, shape into seekh kebabs. If you don’t have a skewer, just mould into an oblong sausage by hand. Or, you can make these kebabs as flat round patties.
11. It’s a good idea to shape all the kebabs and place on a plate before frying.
12. Place a few kebabs in the frying pan, taking care to not overcrowd with too many. Cook over medium heat for 40-50 seconds, or until the bottom of the kebab has turned golden brown in colour. Turn the kebab over and again cook so the bottom has browned.
13. As soon as the kebabs have browned, remove from the oil and place immediately on to the tawa. Cover with a lid and cook over low/medium heat for about a minute. Flip the kebabs over, cover again for a further 30-40 seconds before removing.
14. Place the cooked kebabs in a bowl and cover with foil. Allow them to rest for a couple of minutes before serving. It’s important to place the cooked kebabs in a bowl rather than a plate as they’ll release meet juices that you don’t want to lose.
15. In my humble opinion, these simple kebabs need to be served in a simple manner. I place the cooked kebabs on a hot chapatti, pour over a little of the kebab’s meat juice, drizzle over a simple yoghurt mint sauce and that’s it. You can however, serve in a naan, tortilla wrap, with chips, pulao, or even a burger bun with ketchup and mayo.

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