Bhopali Seekh Kabab

For the last day of this week’s 3 day marathon, under the theme ‘unused posts from Indian states’, I have Bhoplai seekh kababs. I made these kababs for Madhya Pradesh and changed my mind in the last minute. I wanted a more authentic recipe from that state and posted bhutte ka kees. Also, I was not very happy with the pictures either. I felt the pictures were over exposed. I could not make these kababs again, so posting the same pictures I took couple of months ago.

Bhopal is the capital of Madhya Pradesh and has strong Muslim influence which is reflected in the food from the city. It is famous for its meat and fish delicacies. One of those delicacies is Bhopali sheek kababs and these turned out pretty good.

When I searched for Bhopali kabab recipe, most of the recipe links were from non-Indian sites and was not sure how original these kababs are to Bhopal. Since Bhopal has lot of Muslim influence, it was natural to find this recipe in Pakistan sites as it was once part of India. I found a video of a cooking show on a Pakistan TV channel that showed this recipe. The recipe called for beef and I used ground chicken.

Adapted from: recipe 1 & recipe 2
Total Time:3 minutes
Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 - 15 minutes
Serves: 2 - 4 depending on how it is served

Ingredients:

1 lb. Ground Chicken
3 tbsp. Paneer
2 tbsp. Kotmir ~ Cilantro ~ Coriander chopped
3 Green Chiles or 1 tbsp. chopped Green Chilies
1 tsp. Chili Powder (adjust to taste)
¾ tsp. Garam Masala
1 – 1 ¼ tsp. Salt (adjust to taste)
½ cup Fried Onion to be ground to a paste (I used store bought fried onion)
1 tbsp. Poppy Seeds ground to paste using little water or can be ground to a powder
½ tsp. Cardamom Powder
2 tbsp. Oil + more fry grilling the kababs

Preparation:

Mix all the ingredients including 2 tbsp. of oil. Keep aside for at least 10-15 minutes or until ready to grill the kababs. If it is going to take longer than 15 minutes, refrigerate the chicken mixture.
When ready to grill, divide the mixture into 15 - 18 balls and roll it into long kababs, like a thin hot dog. I made 18 kababs; 12 thin long kababs and the rest like small sausages (slightly thicker than the rest of the kababs)
Heat 1 – 2 tbsp. oil or as required in a non-stick pan or a grill pan. Once the pan is hot, grill the kababs on medium high heat until the kababs are cooked on all sides. Keep turning the kababs or shake the pan so that kababs are cooked evenly all around.
Serve hot as a side dish with rice or as a snack.

Note:

Here in the US, we are asked not to leave the meat on the countertop for too long. However, I do marinate the meat and leave it on the counter top for 45 minutes to an hour. I do make sure the meat is fully cooked. This is my preference and please do not leave cooked or uncooked poultry and meats at room temperature for too long.
Since I made seekh kababs, I shaped the kababs like sausages. Kababs can also be shaped into patties or round flat balls.

This day in:
2008 - Poni Annam / Indian Fried Rice
2011 - Butternut Squash Curry
Recipes I posted this month in 2008, in 2009, in 2010, in 2011, in 2012 and in 2013.

Blogging Marathon: Checkout the themes for this month on the announcement post.