Easy Authentic Pakistani Chapli Kebab Recipe

An intensely flavorful blend of simple ingredients with an aromatic mix of spices that will leave your taste buds asking for more. I have put together the most lip-smacking authentic pakistani kebab/kabob recipe by combining all of the best chapli kebabs I have ever eaten. This recipe comes together in less than 20 minutes start to finish and requires no special cooking skills or equipment.

I am lucky enough to be surrounded by so many amazing cooks and I have the pleasure of eating some amazing food. I never hesitate to ask them to share a recipe that I particularly enjoyed. When I recreate a recipe I love to tinker with the ingredients and try to elevate something great to something even more amazing.

In the case of this kebab, I merged my favorite parts of all the kebabs I have ever tried, using my mums recipe as a base. Some of my family like to add pomegranate seeds to their kebab, while others like to add ajwain seeds. Some will only use spring onion, while others use regular white onion. Some even add garlic and ginger to their recipes.

In my recipe, after trying a few different ways, I have put together a kebab that is perfectly spicy, has just the right crunch to it, and comes together with the least amount of hassle and mess. I would say it takes me around 20 minutes start to finish, depending on the amount of kebab I fry. I tend to make extra patties because they freeze amazing and I can use them later in so many ways. I even had neighbors asking for their own kebabs to be mixed using this recipe after they tried mine.

How to make the perfect chapli kebab

Making kebab is much easier than you’d expect, however there are a few mistakes that even a seasoned cook can make. In this post I will cover all the basic steps of what to do and what to avoid to make the tastiest kebabs the whole family will love. I write all of my recipes with beginner cooks in mind, so keep reading if you are interested in a detailed explanation of what to do. If you prefer to skip straight to the main steps then click here to jump to the recipe card or scroll further down the page.

INGREDIENTS

Full recipe and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

• Minced beef
• white onion
• spring onion
• tomatoes
• green chilies
• fresh cilantro
• spice mix
• egg
• flour???type?

The main ingredient in kebab is minced meat, either beef or chicken. I prefer minced beef, but you could easily swap it with chicken if thats what you prefer. The main process to making kebab is chopping a few ingredients into finely diced pieces and mixing everything together with a specific blend of spices. It is relatively straightforward, however it is essential that you remove as much excess liquid from each ingredient before adding it to the meat. Watery kebab mix is the cause of kebab patties falling apart when cooking, which is the most common problem with making kebabs. I will mention this a few times during the process, however once you’ve got that down the rest of the process is easy peasy.

It is good practice to prep your ingredients before you begin cooking. You don’t want to start creating something amazing just to realize half way through that your’e missing a key ingredient. Before I prep my ingredients for this recipe, I like to take out my minced beef and let it sit in a colander to drain any excess liquid. This is especially important if you are using frozen meat that was defrosted.

While the meat is draining, roughly chop onion and green chillies, discarding the stalks on the chili. Add them both to a food processor and blitz for a few seconds at a time until you have finely diced pieces. You don’t want to over-process them into mush so be careful and blend in short pulses. Alternatively, you can chop all of your ingredients by hand, however I find using a food processor much faster and more convenient.

Remove the blended onion and chili mix to another colander to drain excess water (very important, too much liquid causes kebab patties to fall apart when cooking).

De-seed and roughly chop tomatoes. Add to food processor and blitz in short pulses, again being carful not to over blend but you don’t want them too chunky either or they’ll fall out of the kebab patties when frying. 

Swap the blended onion and chili mix to the minced beef bowl and pour the tomatoes into the colander to strain excess water. I like to use a paper towel to help blot out the extra moisture. 

Finally, roughly chop spring onion and cilantro, add to the food processor and pulse until small. Pour this to the minced beef bowl and add the drained tomatoes.

Add all the spices. The pomegranate seeds and powder are optional, as is the box spice mix and ajwain seeds. They give the kebab an extra kick and elevate the flavor, however this recipe will still taste amazing without these.

Add the egg and flour. Using your hands, mix everything well. At this point if the mixture seems too wet you can add a little more flour. If you drained all of the wet ingredients well then you shouldn’t have to add more.

You can do a taste-test by cooking a small beef patty in a pan with a few drops of oil. You can add more spices if you think they’re needed. If you are mixing your kebab to fry later you can store the mix in a closed container in the fridge for up to 3 days

How to form and fry kebab patties

The traditional way of cooking chapli kebab is by frying them. Mixing the kebab is pretty straightforward, however forming the perfect patties can be a challenge. I wanted to save you the trial and error by providing a detailed description of how to get it right the first time.

Lightly oil your hands and keep a small bowl of oil or water nearby to keep your hands wet and stop the mix from sticking. Using about 1/3cup kebab mix, form a round ball and then gently press down into a round shape. try to get them as thin as possible without breaking. Keep an eye on the edges and tuck them in as needed, if they’re too thin the edges of the kebab will over-cook when frying. When you’ve got the right shape, poke a hole into the middle of the patty with your finger just to make sure the middle cooks properly and evenly.

Slowly slip the kebab into hot oil and let it fry while you form another patty. If it takes you longer than a minute to form the patties (it most likely will if this is your first time trying), then use your free hand to flip the frying kebab after about a minute. I like to leave the kebab untouched for about a minute initially just so that it solidifies and I don’t accidentally break it whilst flipping too early.

It takes about 3-4 minutes for the kebab to cook fully. You’ll have to adjust the heat according to your stove, you don’t want it so high that the kebab burns before it cooks and you don’t want it too low that it absorbs so much oil and is soggy rather than crisp and crunchy. Another thing to note is the temperature of the oil drops as you add more patties so keep that in mind when adjusting it.

Fry the patties over medium heat until golden and cooked through. Place them in a plate lined with tissue or newspaper to absorb the excess oil before placing them in your hot pot or another container to keep them warm.

Sometimes I notice small pieces of onion/tomato etc might float out of the kebab while frying. Just remove them as you see them using your slotted spoon.

Serving ideas

Serve with green chutney as an appetizer or snack, or add to naan or on top of rice to complete a meal. We also love serving them in burgers replacing regular beef patties for a tasty alternative. 

Notes : 

Strain any liquid out of the minced beef before you begin. You can do this by leaving it in a colander as you prepare your ingredients. 

You can finely dice all of the fresh ingredients by hand if you don’t have or want to use a food processor.

It is important that at each step you strain any extra liquid before adding the ingredients to the minced beef.