Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Hara Bhara Kabab


Kababs or Kebabs have said to have originated in the Middle-East but were later adopted in Central Asia and now are popular world wide. Kababs are very popular in India and makes a great appetizer. Today, I will be sharing with you all a very popular kabab "HARA BHARA KABAB".




This post is a part of the Blog Hop event " Kebabs and Biryanis". I wanted to post a recipe for Biryani too but due to time crunch , I decided to just post a recipe for Kabab. I found a great recipe by Chef Harpal and I decided to proceed with his recipe. The original recipe can be found here. The kababs turned out awesome and before I knew, the entire batch was finished by my family.



INGREDIENTS:
Note: All measurements are based on the US measuring cup and spoon sizes where 1 cup = 235 ml
Serves : 4
  • Green Bell Pepper / Capsicum (finely chopped) : 1 medium (1 cup)
  • Frozen green peas (thawed) : 1 1/4 cup
  • Fresh Spinach : 500 grams (cleaned and stem removed)
  • Fresh Mint leaves (finely chopped) : 10-12
  • Fresh Cilantro (finely chopped) : 1/4 cup
  • Oil : 1 tbsp + more for deep frying
  • Cumin seeds / Jeera : 1/2 tsp
  • Ginger (finely chopped) : 1 1/4 tbsp
  • Garlic (finely chopped) : 3 big cloves (OPTIONAL)
  • Small Green Chillies (finely chopped) : 4 (Adjust according to taste)
  • Red chilli Powder : 1/4 tsp or as per taste (OPTIONAL)
  • Salt to taste 
  • Turmeric powder / Haldi : 1/4 tsp
  • Potato (Boiled, peeled, cooled and then finely grated) : 1 large (About 1 cup tightly packed when grated)
  • Bread crumbs : 1/4 cup (for binding) + 1/2 cup(for rolling the kababs)
  • Cornstarch : 1 tbsp
  • Chaat Masala for sprinkling
PROCEDURE:

  • Boil water in a large pan. When the water starts boiling, add the cleaned spinach. Cook for a couple of minutes. Drain the water and pour some cold water over the spinach. This helps to retain the green color of the spinach. Squeeze out all the water from the spinach . Finely chop it. Set it aside.

  • Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan. When hot, add cumin seeds. When they start to splutter, add the  chopped ginger and garlic. Cook for a minute.


  • Add the finely chopped bell pepper, green peas, mint leaves, cilantro leaves and green chillies.

 
  • Add salt. This helps to extract the moisture from the vegetables. Keep stirring and press the vegetables with the back of the spatula to help release the moisture (You can also use a masher for this purpose.) Note: It is very important to get rid of the moisture. Add turmeric powder  and red chilli powder at this point.
  • Once all the moisture is gone, turn off the heat and set it aside.
  • Once cooled, grind the mixture to a smooth paste (DO NOT ADD ANY WATER).

  • Take the ground mixture in a large mixing bowl. Add the cornstarch, 1/4 cup bread crumb and the grated potato. Mix and check the seasoning. Note: If you feel the mixture is still sticking add more cornstarch or bread crumbs.


  • Make small balls from the veggie mixture. Flatten them and roll them over the bread crumbs. and press so that the bread crumbs get stuck to the kabab surface. Prepare all the kababs in the similar fashion and set it aside in a place.



  • Heat oil in a deep bottomed pan. . When the oil is hot, add the prepared kababs. Once done , remove from the oil and place them in a plate lined with a paper towel . The kababs get fried really quickly so keep an eye. NOTE: It is very important that the oil is really HOT, or else the kababs will break in the oil. Also as a test, fry one kabab to ensure the correctness of the binding. If you see that the kabab is breaking, add more binding in the form of breadcrumbs of cornstarch and knead the veg mixture again.




  • As soon as , you take out the fried kababs from the oil, sprinkle some chat masala over. 

Important Points:
  1. It is very important to remove the moisture from the veggies to make perfect kababs. So heat them until you get a dry mixture.
  2. Cool the mixture before grinding them to a paste.
  3. If you feel the kabab mixture is sticky, add little cornstarch or bread crumbs to adjust the consistency.
  4. The oil for frying the kababs should be very hot. 


Do check out some more delicious recipes from the talented team of CULINARY HOPPERS..
Piyali (MALAI SABZ SEEKH KABAB)
Anu (SHAHI KORMA BIRYANI)
Vani (PANEER KABAB TIKKA)
Jayashree (BROWN RICE BIRYANI)
Parvathy (TAPIOCA BIRYANI)
Swati (NARGISI KABABS)

15 comments:

  1. Beautifully explained with stunning clicks. The hara bhara kabab seem to pop out of the screen and are having a magnetising effect on me. I love how delightful they look. Green and infused with spices and aromatics they are simple awesome and punch the tastebuds with deliciousness. Shubha a fantastic post, a decadent kabab and flawless capture, kudos dear.

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  2. superb looking hara bhara kabab dear Shubha. So wonderfully made. Loved the key points you have mentioned !

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  3. wow, that looks superb.. crispy and healthy.. :)

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  4. perfectly made kababs ...impressive instructions that you give takes each recipe to another level...keep it up

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  5. How awesomely looking crispy and nice Kababs. Loving all the beautiful flavors and the vibrant colors here! :)

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  6. Delicious kebab Shubha, wonderful share dear, all time favourite at my place !

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  7. Superb Shots and marvelous Presentation...Well done Shubha..I wish I could eat them now..Yummy!

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  8. Green is the word, green is healthy and these greenish kabab are so good.

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  9. Kebab in the Middle East refers to the meat cooked over flame! I am glad to see a vegan recipe for kebab! Looks delicious! A great post! Pinning!

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  10. Wow look at these gorgeous beauties. Wonderfully made.

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  11. Loved these gorgeous looking green kebabs..well explained and presented dear...Loving it!!

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  12. Chef Harpal is one of my favourites... O ji namak shamak :)) These kebabs look absolutely great dear

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