The Kathi Kebab : Street food from Calcutta.

Kebab simply means grilled marinated meat. It is probably one of the oldest forms of meat consumption known to man across all cultures and civilizations. In the present English speaking world, kebab however broadly represents two forms of grilled meat. In North America and India, it means a skewer with small pieces of meat or vegetables while in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, it represents meat cooked on a rotating spit (rotisserie). This recipe is of the first type, a wooden skewer with pieces of meat.

The dish is based on a popular street food which originated from Kolkata, India. Kathi in Bengali means stick, and thus it refers to the wooden skewers used to grill the meat [1]. The Kathi roll is such meat wrapped in an Indian flatbread, paratha. You can find some paratha recipes on my previous blog posts [2,3]. This recipe is about the preparing the meat which is stuffed in such flat breads. The meat is marinated and then grilled. In this case I used an oven; however the same marinated meat can also be grilled on a barbeque which adds another dimension to the flavor of this dish.

This kebab is a spicy, delicious but easy to prepare dish, which can be an ideal snack, with or without the paratha. The spice mix is very important and once that is revealed, the rest of the dish is rapid (apart from the marinating which depends on how long you want it to rest) and does not need any special effort or expertize to prepare this perfect mouthwatering snack.

Ingredients

Red Onion : 1

Yellow bell pepper : 1

Chicken (boneless) : 380 grams

Yogurt : 125 grams

Dried Spices

Dried mango powder : 1 tablespoon

Cumin powder : 1 tablespoon

Coriander powder : 1 tablespoon

Garam masala : 1 table spoon

Red chili powder : 1 tablespoon

Turmeric powder : 1 tablespoon

Nutmeg powder : 1/2 teaspoon

Cinnamon powder : 1/2 teaspoon

Green cardamom : 1/2 teaspoon

Salt : 3 teaspoon

Sunflower oil : 7 tablespoon

Procedure

Chop the onions and bell peppers in cubes.

Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces. Take the chicken, onion and peppers in a bowl.

Add the yogurt.

Add the dried spices. (one after another on the yogurt).

Add salt.

Pour 5 tablespoon of oil on the spice mix.

Mix the yogurt and spices well with the chicken so that each piece is well coated with yogurt and spice mix.

Rest it for at least 1 hour. It is better if marinated in a refrigerator overnight.

First wet the wooden skewers with water. Then pierce the onion, peppers and chicken one by one into the skewer.

Put the skewers into a preheated oven at 200°C and grill them at 190°C for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, take them out and bust them with oil.

Turn the sides of each skewer.

Bust them again with oil and grill them at 190°C for another 20-25 minutes.

Take them out. Wrap the tray with an aluminum foil and rest for 10-15 minutes and then serve.

The resting of the meat after grilling is an important step that helps to redistribute the moisture in the meat. See one of my older blog posts for details.

  

Printable Recipe

The Kathi Kebab : Street food from Calcutta.
Author: Mitanti Ghosh
Preparation Time: 30 min
Cooking time: 45 min
Servings: 4

Calories per serving: 370 kcal

Kathi kebab is a popular street food in Kolkata, India made with meat grilled in a skewer. It is also the wrapped by a flatbread to make the popular Kathi roll. Here is how to make this easy, tasty grilled meat with the perfect spice mix.

Ingredients:

• Red Onion : 1
• Yellow bell pepper : 1
• Chicken (boneless) : 380 grams
• Yogurt : 125 grams
• Dried mango powder : 1 tablespoon
• Cumin powder : 1 tablespoon
• Coriander powder : 1 tablespoon
• Garam masala : 1 table spoon
• Red chili powder : 1 tablespoon
• Turmeric powder : 1 tablespoon
• Nutmeg powder : 1/2 teaspoon
• Cinnamon powder : 1/2 teaspoon
• Green cardamom : 1/2 teaspoon
• Salt : 3 teaspoon
• Sunflower oil : 7 tablespoon

Instructions:

1. Chop the onions and bell peppers in cubes. Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces. Take the chicken, onion and peppers in a bowl.
2. Add the yogurt.
3. Add the dried spices. (one after another on the yogurt). Add the salt.
4. Pour 5 tablespoon of oil on the spice mix.
5. Mix the yogurt and spices well with the chicken so that each piece is well coated with yogurt and spice mix.
6. Rest it for at least 1 hour. It is better if marinated in a refrigerator overnight.
7. First wet the wooden skewers with water. Then pierce the onion, peppers and chicken one by one into the skewer.
8. Put the skewers into a preheated oven at 200°C and grill them at 190°C for 20 minutes.
9. After 20 minutes, take them out and bust them with oil. Turn the sides of each skewer and bust them again with oil.
10. Grill them at 190°C for another 20-25 minutes.
11. Take them out. Wrap the tray with an aluminum foil and rest for 10-15 minutes and then serve.