What’s better than lounging out on your patio, flipping burgers and hot dogs on the grill ? I’ll tell you what is. Making Seekh Kebabs at home. In your oven. With meat that is marinated in Pakistani spices and grilled to perfection. With the month of fasting coming to an end to welcome Eid in just a few days, I decided to embrace the spirit of summer and show you how barbeque is done the right way… sorry I meant to say how it’s done back home in Pakistan.
Seekh kebab, which literally means kebab on a skewer, are traditionally made on an outdoor grill over coals that add as much color as it does flavor to the kebabs. I live in an apartment and don’t have a grill. So I was a little hesitant making these in the oven. But let me tell you that when these kebabs came sizzling out of the oven with much adulation from the fire alarm which just would not stop singing (check out my video for demo), my sister and I just could not have enough. The yogurt raita is simple and a must to go with these kebabs. I will do 100 squats if you tell me you made these and failed. It’s that easy to make.
Pakistani Seekh Kebab + Yogurt Raita
Ingredients
Seekh Kebab
- 1 lb beef chuck 80% lean 20% fat
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 tsp ginger and garlic paste
- 1/4 cup mint finely chopped
- 1/4 cup coriander finely chopped
- 2 tbsp butter melted
- 1 green chili grind into paste
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 3/4 tsp cumin powder
- 3/4 tsp cayenne pepper I add 1 tsp because I like it real spicy
- 1 tsp salt
Raita Chutney
- 1 cup yogurt
- 2 tbsp mint leaves
- 2 tbsp cilantro leaves
- 1 green chilli
- salt to taste
- water add to desired consistency
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F when you are ready to bake the kebabs.
- Into your beef, add coriander powder, cumin powder, cayenne pepper, salt along with the onion, ginger and garlic paste, mint, coriander and green chilli paste and melted butter. Be sure to squeeze the onions in your hands to drain its juice otherwise there will too much moisture in your beef and they won't stick to the skewer.
- Mix with hand until everything is incorporated but don't overwork it.
- Cover with foil and let marinate in refrigerator for at least an hour and up to six hours.
- While kebab is marinating, make yogurt raita. Grind 2 tbsp each of mint and coriander along with the green chilli in an electric grinder with a touch of water to make a paste.
- Pour this paste into the yogurt.
- Add water to get the desired consistency. If you like the raita more liquidy, add more water. Season with salt and keep aside.
- To make the kebabs, preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.
- Scoop out a big ball of the meat mixture and pierce it through the skewer. Working quickly but gently, spread the meat on the skewer with your hands.
- Press you middle finger in a diagonal angle down the beef skewer to make the signature grooves on the kebab.
- To grill the kebabs in the oven, place the rack in the upper third of the oven in a roating tin that has a grill on it (edit made per viewer suggestions).
- Bake kebabs for 20-25 minutes, rotating as needed to brown the kebabs all around. If you find that your kebabs are getting dry, brush oil as needed. However, I don't think you will need to add oil because unlike the heat from an outdoor grill, the oven keeps the kebabs cooking in its own juices.
- Once cooked, slide of the kebabs onto a plate and serve with raita and pita bread.
- This makes 6 really big kebabs.
- *Note: if the meat mixture is too moist and doesn't stick to the skewer, add a few teaspoons of gram flour (besan). The flour will dry out the moisture. This tip was shared by a reader!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I formed them into sausage shaped lengths without a skewer, and they came out fine. Actually, not just fine- they came out really, really good! I added thinly sliced cucumber to the raita, and that worked out well, too. Again, thanks for your kindness and generosity in posting such a great recipe- I’m certain I’ll make this many, many times.
I’m so happy this recipe was a success in your kitchen Sunny! Thanks for leaving a review. Give my koobideh Kebab recipe a spin as well if you like slightly mellow flavors–the tomato hack is amazing!
I have been making a recipe very similar to this for several years, kind of cooked it up on my own. I add some lemon and some black pepper to it with a bit more chilli and a bit more mint.
I usually get my ground meat from Costco and it is usually very lean, so I do have to add fat. I have tried butter, margarine, olive oil, sunflower oil, etc. for taste surprisingly margarine works better than other fats but it is perhaps the least healthy out of all of them.
A small *slightly* unriped tomato can also help this recipe.
If for whatever reason my qeema turns out too runny I add a bit of cornflour and that fixes everything.
Really tasty recipe, better than my local takeaway! Thank you
Thanks for your feedback! Glad you enjoyed it.
Hi can you deep fry these kebabs???
Hi There, you can definitely make this into a chapli kebab style and shallow fry or deep fry even if you like.
Really loved yr recipie I’ve tried a lots of other recipies of seekh kabab but this one is the simplest and perfect jazakillah Khair for sharing
Thank you so much! I’m really glad you love it!
Aslam-O-Aliakmon !!
I have spent about Three years in Islamabad and had enjoyed authentic Seekh-Kebab at Manal Restaurant on the hills (in Islamabad).
This recipe brings back me good memories of my assignment back in Pakistan.
In winter I have enjoyed a lot the “egg-soup” from Karachchi Company. Does any one know the recipe.
Hi Sam, thank you for the lovely message! I’m so glad my recipe hit close to home:) I’m not sure which soup you are referring to but take a look at my Pakistani Chicken Corn Soup. That may be the egg soup you’re looking for. Let me know if do try that
Hi
After making the mixture can I keep the remaining part in the freezer for next weekend
It should be okay, although I would recommend making patties and then freezing. Let them thaw when you’re ready to make them.
PerfeCt????
Again an awesome recipe!!
First attempt made a mistake, did not stick to the seekh, but taste was excellent
@nd attempt, was perfect, finger licking good!!! Beats any snack, any day!!
Ah yes, I’ve always found more fat fixes the stickiness issue. People have also recommended egg for binding, but personally I’m not a fan of using egg.
I will definitely be trying this. Do you make matar paneer? It’s one of my fave dishes but don’t have a good recipe
I need to create a recipe for it! Thanks for the suggestion; I’ll definitely get to it soon, Debbie.
I haven’t put up a recipe for it yet, but going to add that to my list!
[…] Seekh Kabab (Pakistan) […]
[…] Seekh Kabab (Pakistan) […]
[…] Seekh Kabab (Pakistan) […]
This is a great flavour profile but this makes it better. I am Pakistani and have eaten mountains of kebabs. I usually make 5-10lbs at a time.
1. Skip the butter. It’s too much moisture. Baste with ghee instead on the grille. Those commenting that the beef falls off, this is probably why. For oven kebabs on a rack, this is probably fine.
2. Drain the ginger too. Lots of water in there.
3. Add 1 egg for every 3lbs of meat.
4. Add lots more green chilli.. 2-3 per pound.
5. When grilling, turn the skewer after 30 seconds and again after a minute. This will set the meat on the skewer and it won’t fall or droop. Then keep turning to keep the juices from dripping and keeping the kebab moist.
6. Cook to 150deg F if you are going to eat immediately or within 5min. Use a thermometer! Cook to 140 if they will sit in foil or something for 10-15min. Cook to 125 if you plan to reheat and eat later.
7. Use flat skewers.
Omars tweaks worked beautifully. I too am used to lots more green chillies. Super recipe!
[…] These Beef Seekh Kebabs are among easy beef recipes and are super tender. […]
I have been itching to make a kebab ever since I bought a rotisserie. Your recipe is delicious. With the spare prepared blend I made some burgers without the fresh ingredients which I can freeze. I have a feeling I will not need to worry about best before dates though. Thank you
Thank you for taking the time to message. I’m so glad this was a hit!
My fav recipe
Thank you!
I used to work with shahi nan kebab in southall west london he was the best kebab maker in west london..but also your kebab is fantastic ..
Thank u sister
Thank you!
This was by far the best homemade beef kebab recipes I’ve ever tasted. My sister in law came across your website and decided to make them. She said they turned out fantastic! We had a cookout and then made them at our house and they were a crowd pleaser. Unfortunately we didn’t have any luck baking the kebabs as they were falling apart but decided to fry them instead and we’re equally tasty. I’ll be putting these on my food rotation for sure and look forward to making them for friends and family. Thanks for especially putting the video together!
I’m so happy you all loved it. It’s truly your recreations of my recipes that add sweetness to my day. Thank you for leaving your feedback.
Kebab, is usually a mouth watering food for me, and here the recipe was helpful for me during this lock down situation. because now a days we can’t go out for having this delicious food. At evening having kebab with nun and after finishing it, having a coffee will energize an individual.
Thank you for the recipe.
How much is 1lb??
Hi Rukhsana that would be about half a kilo.
Thank you. How much does half a kilo make?
If I may jump in here – it all depends on the size of the kababs you want. usually with 1 kg of ground beef I can get 11 or 12 very large kababs. I could easily get 24 or so small or medium ones if I wanted, but it’s extra work with little payoff. So in half a kilo you could get between 6 and 12 kababs, certainly enough for 4 to 6 people if not a main dish. Size is a personal preference. The large ones are great in seekh kabab rolls, in chappatis, parathas or naans.
These are the most delicious Kebab I have tasted . A friend made them for me and I had to aak HOW?? Out of this world liberally!! Got my taste buds buurrnnning??!!
So happy to hear that Siddiqa and I’m glad you found me:)
I should have stuck with this recipe like last year instead of trying the Shan masala. It was yummy last year. Can’t wait to try it again.
haha yes! Welcome back
This looks so delicious, I’m excited to try it. I’m a little bit confused about the melted butter, in the video you dont put in inside the meat mixture. Should I put it in or say no to the butter?
2.2 lbs is equal to 1 kg
Thank you for this recipe.
I made it with turkey mince as I don’t eat beef and the supermarket didn’t have any lamb or pork (sorry I assume you do not eat) mince. I put in an egg as well as the butter, as I wasn’t sure if it would stick without the egg.
I also made a tomato, onion and cucumber salad (with salt, chilli powder, jeera powder and lemon juice) and the mint/coriander sauce.
Put it all in some Lebanese bread.
Tasted amazing
[…] Recipe adapted from here and here […]
[…] Seekh Kabab (Pakistan) […]
At what temperature are you baking it?
Hi Serena, it’s mentioned in the recipe index. Oven is preheated to 450F.
My kebabs seemed to fall of skewers whilst cooking what can be added to avoid this?
Hi Salma, are you using 20% fat? If not then you would need two more tbsp of butter. If that also does not help, I would recommend using one egg which can work as a binding agent. Usually you shouldn’t need egg if you are using meat with a good fatty component. Hope this helps
Hi Izza, I just wanted to say thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I love seekh kebabs and this is the first time I’ve tried to make them and they were absolutely delicious! Can’t wait to try some of the other recipes.
Thank you for trying Miran! Please let me know when you try more recipes. Love hearing from all of you 🙂
The flavor was perfect, but I couldn’t get them to stick together, so they turned into meatballs instead. I wonder if my “medium” onion was too large. (Maybe include #grams/oz instead?)
AH that can happen if there is too much moisture in the onion. I would recommend grating the onion and squeezing out the juice.
Could I make this on a pan instead?
Hi Rukhsana, yes you can simply shape them in patties are fry them in a bit of oil. I do that all the time and sandwich it in pita bread.
I didn’t quite understand the oven part. Do I just place them on the rack and rotate every few minutes?
I’ve lost count on the number of times I’ve made this, it’s so good! The only seekh kabob recipe I’ve come across that comes even close to my Paki bf’s mom’s kabobs! The only thing I do differently is cook mine on the stove top, rather than the oven. Also, I just started adding plain yogurt (as in the most recent time I made it) for a little extra moisture! Never disappoints!
I’m so happy to hear this! Yay, happy cooking 🙂
I shall be making this on Saturday 30-12-2019.
I’ll let you know how it turned out.
Hi! Can I leave to marinate overnight, or does it have to be 6 hours or less? Many thanks!
I like to marinate for a few hours but you can cook without marinating if you are pressed for time.
Longer the better for more flavor fusion. A few hours is enough but overnight is fine
Should I cover with foil amd bake or leave uncovered and grill?
Uncovered. Wrapping it in foil will trap on the steam. Seekh kebab are ideally cooked on an open charcoal grill.
What kind of green chili do you use?
Hey Christina I use Serrano chillies. You can also use Thai chillies but be careful cause they’re really spicy.
Have you tried substituting fried onions for raw onions? They don’t have any moisture and add wonderful flavor to the meat. I made lamb seekh kebabs the other day and found that the lamb dried up too quickly.
Also can add salt to onions and let them sit a bit and drain.
Yes, that’s a great tip!
Hi Izza,
Used your recipe a 3rd time – and thankfully, they came out delicious. I say thankfully because the one area I have always had trouble with making the meat stick to the skewer 🙁 Earlier I have used eggs to be the binder. But depending on the water in the onion (and other stuff like the ginger/ garlic paste), it can still be a challenge. Just wanted to share with you and your readers that yesterday I used some besan (yellow gram flour?) to dry up a somewhat wetter than expected kheema-mix (and this AFTER having squeezed the onion to remove water till my hands hurt!). The besan definitely helped, without affecting the taste of the kebab!
Thanks again for your recipe – my go to recipe for seekh kebab 🙂
Thank you for the wonderful tip Mahesh! I will add this to the recipe.
[…] 1. Seekh Kebab […]
Hey Rookie with a cookie,
I want to stay a huge thank you for sharing your super tasty recipies. I had my in laws over at my house for the first time for dinner and they never tried my cooking. I tried Multiple recipies before and none of them were as good as yours. I made the tandoori chicken and Seekh kebab. Amazing recipie:) I will be making this again!
wohoo! love hearing that my recipes are traveling the world:) Thanks for sharing your feedback and happy cooking!
Can I use meat instead of beef? Would ingredients be same?
What kind of meat? Chicken should be fine.
Will definitely try your recipe. want to surprise my wife !!! I am looking for a chilli sauce recipe for samoosas
Hi,
Tried the seekh kebab with lamb mince and it was absolutely brilliant! I just added a bit of lime juice and fresh ground pepper to the marinade- and cooked the kebabs at 200C for about 20 mins. I basted the kebabs with its own juices ie. the liquid that ran from the skewers. They were perfect! Thanks so much for the recipe and looking forward to many more!
The best recipes website well is done
Wow I did this recipe for the 1st time and it came perfect and I was douting my self I’m a chef and I have a guest.from so I had to cook Indian food or dishes so add this as well and it was a hit so put more recipes .im a South African but I love spice food
Thank You for the recipe. I tried this today and it came out good. I was not sure about the cooking time, so one of the batches I took out earlier than it should be, but the next one onwards it was crispy. Everyone in the family loved this!
thanks again
Thanks for trying it out Rajiv. The meat cooks very quickly so you’ll just to adjust the time accordingly.
Wow I did this recipe for the 1st time and it came perfect and I was douting my self I’m a chef and I have a guest.from so I had to cook Indian food or dishes so add this as well and it was a hit so put more recipes .im a South African but I love spice food
So glad to hear that!
Great recipe!!! should proof read list of ingredients to avoid conflicting ingredient amounts in triplicate.
Awesome comments, Actually I also thought the cooking time was too little. I did cook the kabobs using lamb mince for like 25 minutes. I served 2 lamb mince kabobs, naan, plain Indian yoghurt, kachumba and lemon and lime wedges for husband and myself. So good. It’s a huge celebration dinner for tonight. ??
I am going to try this with mutton. Can I freeze them after they’re baked?
I wouldn’t freeze if you’re looking to make them on skewers. There will be too much moisture that will prevent the meat from sticking together
Looks so perfect. Tomorrow 4th of July we have big family get to gather , so I want to try this recipe.
My question is that can I use pot for Seekh kabaab? I mean I have heavy iron pot . Can I put kabaab in that and then cover it and then put it in oven?
I have not tried that method so I won’t be able to share the results. I think the kebabs may not be as crisp but should still taste good. Let me know if you try this out.
I have to say,Great recipe.I have never had luck trying different recipe for seekh kebab.I will definitely try your other recipes.Thank you for posting it.
I searched for Seekha Kabeb recipe and yours came on top. So I tried it the last weekend, with mutton (goat meat). The kebabs were FABULOUS to say the least – and a big hit with everyone who ate them. The only thing I added was a couple of eggs (for 2 lbs meat) to get the meat to bind and stay on the skewer. Awesome recipe and great results – thank you!!
Thank you so much for leaving your feedback! It’s always a joy reading success stories! The traditional method doesn’t call for eggs but I must admit making these kebab stick without a binder like eggs can be a challenge. I will try incorporating egg into the mix and update the recipe with my results.
great work.. Do we need to wash the minced meat?
The heat while cooking will kill all bacteria so I don’t wash minced meat. The only thing I wash is Chicken pieces (again not minced), to remove the blood that clots in the nooks.
The chicken was already ground and did not specify on the label. I find beef does not taste so well as lamb or chicken.
Matt
Yes, it doesn’t say anywhere on the box if the ground chicken is made from breast or thigh. I love thighs and I never use chicken breast in my cooking as I find it chewy but there is no way to know what cut of chicken is used for ground chicken.
I have made it with ground chicken. I added extra on the spices along with ginger, garlic, fresh coriander. Amazing taste!
Matt
Thanks for leaving you comment Matthew. Did you try with ground chicken thighs or chicken breast? Would help out other readers who don’t want to cook with beef.
If I were to make this with ground chicken or turkey, would you change anything in the recipe? Like add more fat or something else so that it doesn’t dry out?
The only thing I would do is use chicken thighs because they tend to be juicier. I you use chicken breast, you can add 2 more tbsp of butter.
I am going to make this today! Haven’t had Seekh kabob since 2003 when I lived in Virginia. Can’t find Pakistani out here in Seattle. Cheers and thank you for the recipe!
Hope you love it!
I am a kabab lover. Seekh kabab is my favorite kabab. Thanks for your recipe dear. I’ll try your recipe.
Will definitely need to try your recipes. Hari kebab looks delicious!
Can’t wait to make this tonight for father’s Day!
Are you using the oven to bake or the grill setting on the oven ? Thanks!
Hey Heidi! I bake this in my oven in the second level of the grill. Hope this helps
I come from a Hispanic background and I always veer toward making food from my own culture. I wanted to surprise my family with something new. So, it was my first time making and tasting seekh kebab. We were not dissapointed! I made the mince using ground chicken and it was so delicious! Oh! And the raita too! I will definitely be making some of your other recipes. Thank you!!!
Thank you for trying my recipe Damaris! It truly makes my day to read such sweet comments!
I made this dish exactly except for a few deviations: 1) Added two eggs (because I doubled the recipe) to assist as a binding agent and 2) Did not let sit for the recommended 1-6 hours because of time constraints and let me please share my gratitude….. the kababs were delicious and had my fiancee and roommate simply raving about it! Next time, I’ll plan my meals out better and leave myself enough time so it can sit in the fridge longer. Even though I doubled the recipe, all the kababs I made were gone. I was sad there were no leftovers but a food that is quickly consumed is a huge compliment any foodie can ever ask for! Once again, thank you!
Nisha! I’m so glad you tried the recipe and tool time to give me your feedback. I hope you get a chance to try more recipe. My Tandoori Chicken is a beast of a dish on the dinner table:P