Pakistan is definitely known for its variety of kebabs and I love cooking and eating each and every one of them. I also think all of you should be able to eat them so here I am with one of Pakistan’s many traditional kebabs, Chapli Kebab. This spicy, aromatic kebab is known for its signature crispy exterior and juicy, savory interior. That’s enough describing it, let’s get started with the recipe, shall we?
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Ingredients:
- 1.5 pounds ground beef
- 1 teaspoon salt, to taste
- 1 teaspoon Pakistani Red Chili Powder
- 2 tablespoons cumin powder
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 2 teaspoons dry pomegranate seeds
- 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
- 1/2 teaspoon chaat masala
- 1 lime, juiced
- 3 tablespoons chickpea flour or cornstarch
- 1.5 teaspoons garlic-ginger paste
- 1 cup tomato, diced
- 1/2 large onion, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
- 2 green chilies (optional spice)
Directions:
I like to start by prepping any ingredients that need to be chopped or crushed. Finely dice your onion and tomato and set aside until ready to use. Now, to crush those seeds – place your pomegranate and cumin seeds in a spice blender or mortar and pestle and crush into corse mixture. It shouldn’t be a fine powder, just roughly crushed. Set this aside until ready to use.
Place your ground beef in a large bowl and add in all the spices, crushed seeds, garlic-ginger paste, and chopped cilantro. To make garlic-ginger paste just blend together equal parts garlic and ginger with a few tablespoons of water. You can put any extra in the fridge and use it when you need.
Mix the beef together until everything is well combined. Add in the diced onion and tomato fold it into the meat. At this point you can add the cornstarch but if you are using the chickpea flour you have to cook it in a dry pan to cook out the rawness. In a pan on medium heat cook the chickpea flour for 2-3 minutes until it smells nutty. Add the cooked chickpea flour into the beef and then add in chopped green chilies (optional). Mix to combine and now you have a Chapli Kebab mixture!
Now it’s time to fry these patties up! Well, they’re not patties yet but they’re about to be. I like to form the patties while I’m cooking. Start by adding vegetable oil to a large frying pan, enough to do a shallow fry. Using about 2-3 tablespoons of the beef mixture form into a large palm-sized patty. Evenly flatten between your hands until about 1/4 – 1/2 inch thick. Place the formed kebabs into the pan as you make them. Once the pan is full, cook the kebabs for 3-4 minutes per side, until crispy. The crispiness is a MUST! Definitely, a necessity of Chapli Kebabs. After you finish cooking a batch form some more kebabs and get ‘em crispy!
Guess what? You just made CHAPLI KEBAB – I’m very proud of you! They look so good and they’re gonna taste even better! Serve them fresh with some Parathas or Biryani and a side of green chutney. Garnish with red onion slices and cilantro.
Chapli Kebab
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds ground beef
- 1 teaspoon salt, to taste
- 1 teaspoon Pakistani Red Chili Powder
- 2 tablespoons cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 2 teaspoons dry pomegranate seeds
- 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- ½ teaspoon chaat masala
- 1 lime, juiced
- 3 tablespoons chickpea flour or cornstarch
- 1½ teaspoons garlic-ginger paste
- 1 cup tomato, diced
- ½ large onion, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon cilantro, finely chopped
- 2 green chilies, (optional spice)
Instructions
- Prepare your tomatoes and onions by finely dicing and setting them aside until ready to use.
- In a mortar and pestle or spice grinder add in the pomegranate seeds and coriander seeds, blend until roughly crushed. Don’t make it a fine powder
- In a large bowl with the ground beef add in the crushed seeds, all the spices, salt, ginger-garlic paste*, and chopped cilantro. Mix all the spices in thoroughly
- Add the tomatoes and onions into the beef and combine evenly into the mixture. At this point you can, optionally, add in chopped green chilies for extra spiciness
- Once your mixture is done you can start forming and cooking the kebabs. Heat up a large frying pan with vegetable oil (enough to shallow fry the kebabs) on medium heat. To form the kebabs take about 2-3 tablespoons of meat and form it into a ball then flatten between your palms until about ¼ – ½ inch thick. Round the edges with your fingers then add into the heated pan.
- Form as many kebabs as can fit into the pan. Let each kebab cook for 3-4 minutes per side and flip when there is a charred, crisp exterior.
- Continue to form kebabs and add to pan as you cook them. You should end up with about 12 kebabs
- Once the kebabs are done serve up immediately with some Parathay or Biryani with a side of chutney. Garnish with cilantro and red onion slices.
- Enjoy!
Notes:
- *To make your own ginger-garlic paste blend together equal parts ginger and garlic with a few tablespoons of water. Use what you need then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
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