Seekh Kabab (Pakistani Spiced Beef Mince Kebabs)

• 1 kg beef mince, 80% lean and 20% fat, minced twice
• 5 medium onions, finely chopped and squeezed dry in a cloth
• 4–5 green chillies
• 5–6 garlic cloves
• 2-inch piece ginger
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp red chilli powder, plus 1 heaped tsp chilli flakes
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp coriander seeds (1 tsp ground, 1 tsp lightly crushed)
• ½ tsp black peppercorns, plus ½ piece long pepper (pipli)
• 2–3 pinches lime powder (about ¼ tsp; or a little citric acid)
• ¼ tsp garam masala
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• 2 tbsp oil, for the pan

Method

The cook speaks Urdu; every step is written here in English. Tap a time to watch that step in the video. For subtitles, tap CC in the video, then Settings › Subtitles › Auto-translate › English.

1. Use beef mince with about 20% fat, passed twice through the mincer for a fine texture. Do not wash it, or the kebabs will not hold on the skewers. 0:32
2. Chop the onions finely, then squeeze out all their water through a muslin cloth. Blitz the green chillies, ginger and garlic to a paste. 1:38
3. Put the mince in a bowl with the squeezed onion, the chilli-ginger-garlic paste and the salt, and knead for 4–5 minutes until sticky. 2:14
4. For the kebab masala, grind the cumin, peppercorns, chilli powder, 1 tsp coriander seeds and the long pepper. Mix in the chilli flakes, the crushed coriander, the lime powder and the garam masala. 3:24
5. Knead the masala and baking soda into the mince, then chill for at least 30 minutes and knead once more. 4:50
6. With wet hands, shape a fistful of mince into a smooth, crack-free ball, press it onto a flat skewer and spread it evenly along the skewer with your fingers. 6:10
7. Lay the skewers on a very hot iron tawa for 1–2 minutes a side, just until set, then slide the kebabs off. They can be frozen at this point. 7:23
8. Heat the oil on a tawa or frying pan over medium-high heat and cook the kebabs for 4–5 minutes, turning, until browned and cooked through. 10:00

Tip. Serves 4 (our estimate: about 8 kebabs). His written list says 1 tbsp salt and ½ tsp soda, but on camera he uses 1 tsp salt and ¼ tsp soda for 1 kg. Served on naan with a mint, tomato and onion salad; the salad alone is low in carbs.

The method is a summary in our words — the video shows every step.