The chicken seekh kabab recipe delivers soft, succulent, and flavorful seekh kababs or kebabs. The kabab prepared with chicken mince and the right amount of seasonings stimulates taste buds with every single bite.
Seekh kababs are popular street food in India and Pakistan. These seekh kababs of ground meat blended with herbs, spices, and aromatics are threaded on metal skewers, then barbecued, grilled, baked in the oven, or cooked on a griddle or tawa.
What is chicken seekh kabab? How to make chicken seekh kabab soft and juicy? How do you keep seekh kebabs from falling? Why do your kebabs fall apart? All the secrets of the perfect dish lie in this recipe.
What is Chicken Seekh Kabab?
Chicken seekh kababs are cylindrical-shaped kababs made with minced chicken that’s seasoned with herbs, aromatics, and spices. The chicken spice mix, threaded on skewers, can be barbecued, baked in the oven, grilled, or cooked in an air-fryer, or on a griddle.
Perfect and tasteful seekh kababs are featured with tender, juicy, and mouth-watering fragrance and texture. These chicken seekh kababs can be served as an appetizer or they can be enjoyed as a delicious meal by wrapping them up in pita or naan.
How to make Chicken Seekh Kabab Soft and Juicy?
The trickiest part of preparing the kabab is to get soft and juicy kababs. It seems to be the easiest one but without some essential tips and tricks you may end up with a complete kabab failure.
Here I am sharing those essential handy tips and tricks. Follow these tips to make the chicken seekh kabab super soft, juicy, and not mushy which makes your efforts worth it.
Prepping the mince with the right amount of fat and then cooking the kabab mix at the right temperature are the two leading factors in making the chicken seekh kababs soft and juicy.
Ingredients of the Recipe
Here are the simple and easily available ingredients that you’ll need to make tender and juicy chicken seekh kababs on a tawa or griddle:
Chicken Mince
You can easily prepare the chicken mince at home. You can mince boneless skinless chicken; breast or thighs (or a combination) in your food processor. The meat of the thigh is good to have tasty kababs.
However, for your convenience, you can buy mincemeat from the market. If you do not find the right mincemeat with the necessary fat then you may add a little extra fat to it. Mutton fat is good to use in seekh kabab masala.
Processing of Fat
Fat in the minced meat is essential to prevent the kababs from getting stiff and keep them soft and juicy. I took 200 grams of mutton fat and melted it in a wok on low flame. When the oil separated from this fat, I sifted it and kept it at room temperature for half an hour to let it cool. After processing you’ll get almost 100 grams of fat.
When you’ll use this fat in the kababs, the taste of the kababs will be awesome. You will feel no separate taste of fat when you eat these kababs. So, whenever you make seekh kababs, first thing is to bring the fat into this form and then use it in kababs to have a great flavor.
Minced Onions
Mince or grate the onions. Then give them a good squeeze to drain off excess water. This step is necessary to keep the moisture at the necessary level to stick the kabab masala on the skewers. This will also help to prepare the perfect chicken seekh kababs.
Spices
To make the recipe spicy and fragrant, we’ll use salt, red chili flakes, coriander powder, whole black cumin seeds, red chili powder, black pepper powder, homemade special seekh kabab masala powder, ajwain (carom seeds), and turmeric powder. Grind the ajwain to powder.
Try to grind these spices in your kitchen as freshly ground spices give a nice taste and aroma and add a subtle flavor and spiciness to the kabab. I prepared a special spice mix at home which gives a magic fragrance to the seekh kababs.
Herbs and Aromatics
Herbs and aromatics make the kabab more flavorful. Take 8 to 10 mint leaves and 16 to 17 garlic cloves in case you are using small organic garlic (desi lehsan). If you have Chinese garlic then use 6 to 7 cloves.
Take a 2-inch piece of ginger, peel it and cut it into small pieces. Take fresh green chilies and red chilies. The combination of these two types of chilies gives a nice look to the texture of kababs.
Chicken Seekh Kabab Recipe
Chicken seekh kabab is a much-loved recipe that makes the kabab perfect with the right texture and taste. In this recipe, I’ll share all the tips and tricks to make perfect seekh kababs without eggs and breadcrumbs.
We will prepare this dish on tawa in the kitchen. With the method with which I am going to prepare the kababs, you will feel no hassle in making the perfect chicken seekh kababs. Those who will eat your kababs will definitely appreciate you. So, let’s start with how to make this amazing dish easily and perfectly at home.
Chicken Seekh kabab Masala
Take boneless and skinless chicken. Clean the meat and wash it with fresh water. Make small pieces of meat so that we can mince them easily. Keep the chicken in the colander for some time to drain off excess water.
In a food processor or a simple chopper, mince all the herbs, aromatics, and spices together. After mincing, add processed fat to it and mince all the ingredients to a smooth paste. Now pour this minced masala into a tray and mince the chicken. If you have a big chopper, you can mince all the ingredients together in a single go.
After mincing, put the minced meat on the tray and mix the masala and minced chicken well. Now keep this seekh kabab masala in the refrigerator for an hour. Masala will get marinated and it will become somewhat stiff. This step is necessary to stick the seekh kabab mix to the skewers (seekh). Without marination, the masala may fall apart at any time.
How to Make Chicken Seekh Kababs on Tawa
Preparing the Skewers
I threaded kabab mix on square-shaped iron skewers having a thickness of ½ inch. You can use flat skewers for these kababs. Wet your finger and palm with simple water before putting the masala on the skewers. By wetting, the masala will not stick to the hands.
Take a portion of masala to put it on a skewer. Take as much masala as you want the size of a kabab. Spread the masala on the skewers by pressing the masala gently with your fingers. Thread all the skewers likewise.
Cooking on a Tawa or Griddle
You can barbecue these kababs or cook them on a tawa or griddle. We’ll not place the kababs skewers directly on the tawa. There should be a little gap between the tawa and kababs. We’ll place two skewers parallel on the edges of tawa and then arrange kabab skewers on these two skewers. Keep the flame just below the medium.
If there is a wide gap between the tawa and skewers, it will take more time to cook the kababs. Just a little gap is enough to cook the kababs perfectly. Flip the sides of the kababs after every 3 minutes. Cook the kababs on all four sides till a light brown color. It will take 12 to 15 minutes.
No extra oil needs to apply to these kababs, as in most recipes of seekh kababs extra oil is used to apply while grilling or barbecuing. In this recipe, I’ve used a sufficient quantity of fat. It will start melting when you place the kababs on tawa. Cook them till a light golden color on them. Don’t overcook, as overcooking renders them dry and stiff.
Shifting to the Serving Dish
Upon light brown or golden color, the kababs are ready to serve. Shift them to the serving dish. The easy way to remove the kababs from the skewer is first to push the kabab from the front towards the back and then push it from the back to dismount it easily. You can use paper or cloth to remove the kababs.
Now you have soft, juicy, and tasteful kababs ready for you. You must try this recipe at home.
We can serve these chicken seekh kababs as an appetizer with coriander or mint chutney or these can be served as a hearty meal by rolling them up in pita or naan. These kababs are also paired well with plain white rice, saffron rice, or vegetable rice.
You can also enjoy seekh kababs with chapatis and green chutney.
Tips for Perfect Seekh Kebabs
- Make sure not to use lean meat that is completely stripped of fat. To get the kababs soft, succulent, and tasteful, use a sufficient quantity of fat in the minced meat.
- You can use the meat of breast or thighs or a combination of both but the meat of the thigh is good to have tasty kababs.
- Process the fat before using it in the kababs because if you use the fat in its natural form in the mincemeat, you can feel a fatty taste when you eat these kababs.
- Mince or grate the onions and squeeze out the excess water. This step is necessary to maintain the moisture at the necessary level inside the kababs to stick the kabab masala on the skewers.
- Marinate the masala mix in the refrigerator for at least one hour before preparing the skewers. Marination will create a good binding for seekh kabab masala that will help you to handle and shape the kabab easily.
- The right temperature is an important factor leading to perfect kababs. Also, make sure not to overcook. With overcooking the kababs get dried or stiffed.
Chicken Seekh Kabab
Ingredients
- 1½ kg chicken skinless and boneless
- 375 grams onions minced or grated
- 8-10 fresh mint leaves
- 16-17 cloves desi or local garlic (or Chinese 6-7 cloves)
- 6-7 fresh green chilies
- 2½ tsp salt
- 1½ tsp ajwain (carom seeds) powder
- 3 tsp homemade special seekh kabab masala powder
- 1½ tbsp red chili flakes
- 1½ tsp red chili powder
- 1 tbsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp black pepper powder
- 3 tsp black cumin seeds whole
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 200 grams natural mutton fat (100 grams processed fat)
Instructions
- Take boneless and skinless chicken. Clean the meat and wash it with fresh water. Then cut it into small pieces to mince them easily.Next, keep the chicken in the colander for some time to drain off excess water.
- Take onions and mince or grate them. Then give them a good squeeze to drain off excess water. This step is necessary to keep the moisture at the necessary level to stick the kabab masala on the skewers.Next, take 8 to 10 mint leaves and 16 to 17 garlic cloves in case you have small organic garlic (desi lehsan). If you have Chinese garlic then use 6 to 7 cloves.Also, take a 2-inch piece of ginger, peel it and cut it into small pieces. Then take fresh green chilies and red chilies.
- Take 200 grams of mutton fat and melt it in a wok on low flame. When the oil separates from this fat, sift it and keep it at room temperature for half an hour to let it cool. After processing you’ll get almost 100 grams of fat.
- Gather all the spices on a plate that will be used in the recipe.
- In a food processor or a simple chopper, mince all the herbs, aromatics, and spices together.
- After mincing, add processed fat and mince all the ingredients to a smooth paste.
- Now pour this minced masala into a tray.
- Next, mince the chicken. With a big chopper, you can mince all the ingredients together in a single go.After mincing, put the minced meat on the tray, too.
- Mix the masala and minced chicken well.Now keep this seekh kabab masala in the refrigerator for an hour. Marination is necessary to stick the seekh kabab mix to the skewers and keep the kabab masala from falling apart.
- Now thread the kabab masala on the skewers. I used square-shaped iron skewers. You can use flat skewers for these kababs.Wet your finger and palm with simple water before putting the masala on the skewers. By wetting, the masala will not stick to the hands.
- Take a portion from the masala and put it on one skewer. Take as much masala as you want to have the size of a kabab.Spread the masala on the skewers by pressing the masala gently with your fingers. Thread all the skewers likewise.Take a tawa or griddle. We’ll not place the kababs skewers directly on the tawa. To keep a little gap between the tawa and kababs, place two skewers parallel on the edges of tawa and then arrange kabab skewers on them.Keep the flame just below the medium.
- Flip the sides of the kababs after every 3 minutes. Cook the kababs on all four sides till a light brown color. It will take 12 to 15 minutes to cook a single batch of kababs.No extra oil needs to apply to these kababs. There is a sufficient quantity of fat to make the kababs soft and juicy.Cook them till a light brown color on them. Don’t overcook, as overcooking renders them dry and stiff.
- Upon light golden color, you'll have soft, juicy, and tasteful kababs ready for you.Shift them to the serving dish. The easy way to remove the kababs from the skewer is, first push the kabab from the front towards the back and then push it from the back to dismount it easily. You can use paper or cloth to remove the kababs.We can serve these chicken seekh kababs as an appetizer with coriander or mint chutney or these can be served as a hearty meal by rolling them up in pita or naan.These kababs are also paired well with plain white rice, saffron rice, or vegetable rice. You can also enjoy seekh kababs with chapatis and green chutney.
Really mouthwatering dish hope to have after Kartik month.
Hi Madhuri, Thank you so much for your great liking. Surely, you’ll enjoy this dish. I used special homemade seekh kabab masala powder in it. I’ll upload that recipe very soon; maybe this week. Thanks once again.