Chapli kebab is a broad, flat patty of minced beef or lamb, bound with a little flour and egg, flecked with onion, tomato, green chilli and fresh coriander, and fried until crisp at the edges. A specialty of eastern Afghanistan and the neighbouring Pashtun lands across the border, it is sold at street stalls and kebab houses and eaten hot with naan and yoghurt.
Name and origins
The name is usually traced to the Pashto chaprikh, meaning flat; others link it to chappal, a sandal, which the oval patty resembles. Its exact birthplace is debated. Many accounts place it in Peshawar, while Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper credits the former North-West Frontier Province and eastern Afghanistan together. Today it is served in kebab shops across Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of India.
Flavour and variations
Afghan cooks prize fresh herbs and garlic over heavy spice. Dried pomegranate seeds and coarsely crushed coriander seed give the patties their tang and crunch, and a binding of egg and flour keeps the inside tender while the outside crisps. Traditionally they were fried in lamb or beef fat over wood fires; most home cooks now use oil. Beef or lamb is standard, though chicken versions exist.
Ingredients
- 500 g minced beef (about 20% fat) or lamb
- 1 small red onion, very finely chopped
- 2 spring onions, finely chopped
- 1 small tomato, deseeded and finely diced
- 2–3 green chillies, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves and a small piece of ginger, crushed
- A handful of fresh coriander, chopped
- 2 tbsp coriander seeds and 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1½ tbsp dried pomegranate seeds (anardana)
- 3 tbsp gram (chickpea) flour or plain flour
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tsp chilli flakes, ½ tsp black pepper and 1½ tsp salt
- Oil for shallow-frying
A home-style way to make it
- Toast the coriander and cumin seeds in a dry pan for 3–4 minutes, then crush coarsely with the pomegranate seeds.
- Toast the flour in the same dry pan for a few minutes, until fragrant.
- Put everything except the oil in a bowl and knead firmly for 3–4 minutes, until the mixture is sticky and holds together.
- With wet hands, shape into 8–10 thin patties about 1 cm thick and 11 cm across.
- Shallow-fry in hot oil for about 2 minutes on each side, until well browned and cooked through.
- Serve at once with naan, sliced onion, lemon and yoghurt or chutney.
