isithalal.food · Recipes

Chapli kebab

Flat Peshawari beef kebabs with tomato, pomegranate seed and crushed coriander, fried in oil or Halal beef fat, never lard or unknown dripping.

Pakistani · Main · Easy · 8 kebabs · 75 min

Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.

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Why Halal checks matter here

Chapli kebabs are traditionally fried in beef fat; outside Pakistan, supermarket dripping is rarely from Halal slaughter, and the mince needs a Halal source too.

Halal-critical ingredients

• Frying fat: The traditional frying fat is beef fat. Outside Pakistan, beef dripping from a supermarket is rarely from Halal slaughter, and some takeaways use lard or catering shortening of unstated origin. Render fat from a Halal butcher's beef, or use plain vegetable oil. Never lard. See Lard.
• Beef mince: Supermarket mince is rarely Halal-slaughtered, and mince can be processed on equipment shared with pork. Ask a Halal butcher to mince a fatty cut such as brisket or chuck for you. See Beef.
• Frozen chapli kebabs: Ready-made kebabs can use mixed meat or binders and flavourings of unstated origin. Buy only certified packs, or make them at home; they freeze well raw between sheets of paper.

Ingredients

Kebab mix

• 500 g (1.1 lb) Halal beef mince, coarse, 20–25% fat
• 100 g (1 medium) onion, finely chopped and squeezed dry
• 100 g (1 medium) tomato, seeded and finely chopped
• 2 (2) green chillies, finely chopped
• 10 g (¾ in piece) ginger, grated
• 10 g (¼ cup) fresh coriander, chopped
• 1 (1) egg
• 20 g (2 tbsp) maize flour (makki atta) or fine cornmeal
• 5 g (1 tbsp) coriander seeds, toasted and coarsely crushed
• 3 g (1 tsp) cumin seeds, toasted
• 6 g (1 tbsp) dried pomegranate seeds (anardana), crushed
• 3 g (1 tsp) crushed red chilli flakes
• 1 g (½ tsp) black pepper, coarsely ground
• 7 g (1 tsp) fine salt

To fry and serve

• 120 ml (½ cup) Halal beef fat, rendered, or neutral oil
• 1 (1) tomato, sliced into thin rounds
• 4 (4) naan
• 1 (1 portion) sliced onion, lemon and green chutney

Method

1. Mix and rest. Put the mince in a bowl with everything from the kebab mix. Knead with your hand for 3–4 minutes until the mix is sticky and holds together. Chapli kebabs should be coarse and loose compared with seekh kebabs, so do not overwork it. Chill for 30 minutes.
2. Shape thin. Wet your hands and divide the mix into 8 balls. Press each into a thin round about 12 cm across and 8 mm thick, on a sheet of baking paper. Press a thin tomato slice into the top of each. Thin and wide is what gives chapli kebabs their crisp, lacy edge.
3. Check the fat. Peshawar kebab houses fry in rendered beef fat. At home, use beef fat you rendered from a Halal butcher's trimmings, or neutral oil. Supermarket beef dripping is rarely from Halal slaughter, and lard is pork fat. See Lard and Ghee.
4. Shallow-fry. Heat the fat in a wide, heavy pan to about 180 °C. Slide in two or three kebabs, tomato side down first, and fry 3–4 minutes a side until deep brown, crisp at the edges and cooked through (71 °C in the centre). Drain on a rack.
5. Serve. Serve hot on naan with sliced onion, lemon and a green chutney of coriander, mint and green chilli.

Allergens

egg

How this recipe was researched

Method specified editorially from Peshawar chapli kebab technique (coarse fatty beef mince mixed with tomato, onion, dried pomegranate seed, crushed coriander, maize flour and egg, pressed into thin rounds and shallow-fried in plenty of fat) and this site's Beef, Lard and Ghee pages. Timings follow published technique rather than a kitchen test.

Photograph of chapli kebabs from Wikimedia Commons, not the finished dish from this recipe.