The DailyWhisk

Seekh Kebab

Seekh kebabs on skewers with charred edges, onion rings and lemon
Seekh Kebab — photographed fresh from our test kitchen.
  • Prep time25 mins + 1 hr chill
  • Cook time15 mins
  • Servings4 (about 8 skewers)
  • DifficultyMedium
  • CategoryDesi

The difference between a good seekh kebab and a dry one is fat and handling. Twenty percent fat keeps the skewers juicy over fierce heat, and the mince must be kneaded — really worked — until it turns sticky and binds to the skewer on its own. A hot grill gives the char, but a ripping-hot oven with a final rest over open flame gets you remarkably close indoors.

Ingredients

  • 700 g (1.5 lb) beef or lamb mince (20 percent fat)
  • 1 medium onion, grated and squeezed very dry
  • 2 green chilies, minced
  • 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
  • 1/4 cup fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp seekh kebab masala (or 2 tsp garam masala + 1 tsp cumin + 1 tsp chili powder)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp melted butter or ghee, for basting
  • Lemon wedges and onion rings, to serve

Method

  1. Put the mince in a large bowl and knead it with your hands for 8 to 10 minutes, until it becomes sticky and paste-like. This develops the protein that holds the kebab on the skewer.
  2. Mix in the onion, chilies, ginger-garlic paste, herbs, spices and salt. Knead 2 minutes more. Cover and chill at least 1 hour (this firms the fat and makes shaping easier).
  3. With wet hands, divide into 8 portions. Mold each firmly around a flat metal skewer into a long sausage, pressing to seal the ends.
  4. Grill over the hottest coals (or a 250 C / 480 F oven on a rack) for 10 to 12 minutes, turning every 3 minutes and basting with butter, until charred in spots and just cooked through.
  5. Rest 3 minutes, slide off the skewers, and serve with lemon, onion rings and naan.

Tips for success

  • If the mince slides off the skewer, it was not kneaded long enough — keep working it.
  • Flat skewers grip far better than round ones.
  • Do not overcook: pull them when just done; they carry over a little.

Watch video tutorial

Prefer to watch it being made? This from Your Food Lab walkthrough covers the same seekh kebab step by step — the spoken narration doubles as an audio tutorial.

Watch on YouTube