The Indian subcontinent · Volume 14, The Langar, the Spit and a Coast Without a Restaurant
Chapli kebab
Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Illustration
- Time
- 40 minutes
- Researched
- Researched from 48 sources in the brief
Peshawar's own kebab, flattened and wide rather than round, its name most likely from Pashto "chaprikh," flat, or the local "chappal," sandal, describing its shape. A genuine, still-live dispute separates two schools: Peshawar's own tradition uses beef fried in lamb fat, while Takhtbhai in neighbouring Mardan district uses buffalo and more spice, named chefs on both sides quoted in the Pakistani press. What both agree on is the mechanism: coarsely ground meat bound with cornmeal rather than breadcrumb, rendered fat worked through the mix and used again in the pan, and a tomato slice pressed into the centre of the raw patty before it is shallow-fried until the wide, thin shape crisps and cracks at the edges while the centre stays moist.
As tradition built it
Makes 8 to 10 kebabs. About 40 minutes.
Ingredients
- 2lb (900g) coarsely ground beef or mutton, about 20 percent fat
- 2 medium onions, finely chopped
- 8 garlic cloves, made into a paste
- 2-inch piece, or to taste a 2-inch piece of ginger, made into a paste
- 3 to 6 green chillies, minced
- 1/3 cup fresh coriander, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh mint
- 2 tbsp coriander seed, toasted and crushed
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 tbsp crushed pomegranate seeds (anardana)
- 3 tbsp cornmeal or chickpea flour
- 2 eggs
- 1 to 2 tsp red chilli powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 to 2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp rendered tallow or butter, for the mix and for frying
- 1/4 cup neutral oil, for the mix and for frying
- 1 tomato, sliced into rounds
Method
- Combine the beef, onions, garlic, ginger, chillies, coriander, mint, coriander seed, cumin seeds, pomegranate seeds, cornmeal, eggs, chilli powder and other spices with the tallow and oil for the mix, except the tomato slices and frying oil, in a large bowl, working the fat through by hand until evenly distributed.
- Divide into 8 to 10 portions and press each into a patty about half an inch thick and as wide as a hand, pressing a tomato slice into the centre of each.
- Heat the tallow and oil in a wide, heavy pan until shimmering.
- Fry the patties 3 to 4 minutes per side, until the edges are deeply crisped and cracked and the centre is just cooked through.
- Drain briefly and serve hot.
What a modern chef changes
Rendered tallow, a ring-moulded patty and a confit tomato core
Rung 4
Method
- First, the tallow is rendered in-house from the same cut's own trim rather than bought in, giving a fat whose flavour is continuous with the meat it seasons.
- Second, a ring mould is used to press each patty to a uniform 8mm thickness, thinner and more even than a hand-shaped patty manages, maximising the crisp, cracked surface area the dish's whole mechanism depends on.
- Third, the raw tomato slice is replaced with a slow oven-confit of the same tomato, concentrated and pressed into the centre before frying, trading the raw slice's fresh acidity for a deeper, jammier one that survives the fry without turning watery.
- A thin glaze of anardana reduced with a little stock and strained through a chinois for total clarity is brushed over the finished kebab, a refined echo of the whole crushed seeds worked through the mix.