Recipe: Chef Sarab's Chicken Kebabs With Apples

Chef Sarab Kapoor's pungent but mildly sweet Chicken Kebabs make for a delicious starter during Ramadan or for Eid or any special occasion.

They can be made ahead, refrigerated and brought to room temperature just before frying. Serve with chutney or ketchup or, best, plum sauce, if you can get your hands on fresh plums in the market.

Television chef Kapoor says she offers 'easy-going and accessible recipes that accommodate individual taste preferences and encourage a more relaxed approach to measurements'.

Chicken Kebabs

Serves: 2-3

Ingredients

For the kebabs

• 500 gm chicken kheema or mince, washed and drained
• Kebab masala (please see the recipe below)
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 green apples, peeled and diced into small pieces
• 3 green chillies, minced
• 1 tbsp ginger paste
• 1 tbsp garlic paste
• 1 tbsp baking soda
• 2 tbsp chopped green dhania or cilantro or coriander leaves
• 2 tbsp chopped pudina or mint leaves
• Oil, for deep frying

For the kebab masala

• 1 tbsp jeera or cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp dhania or coriander seeds
• 1 tbsp saunf or fennel seeds
• ½ tbsp black peppercorns
• 1 tbsp chilly flakes
• ½ tbsp green elaichi or cardamom powder
• ½ tsp special garam masala (please see the note below)
• Salt to taste, around 1 tsp

To serve

• Onion rings
• Plum sauce, optional (please see the note below)
• Lemon slices
• Chopped green dhania or cilantro or coriander

Method

For the kebab masala

• In a blender, coarsely grind all the spices.
• Keep aside.

For the kebabs

• In a bowl, combine the washed and drained minced chicken with the ground kebab masala.
  Mix well, using your hands, and keep aside.
• Squeeze the excess water from the chopped onions and the diced apples.
  In another bowl, combine the marinated minced chicken with the apples, onions, chillies, garlic paste, ginger paste, baking soda, dhania, pudina.
  Refrigerate.
• One hour before frying, take out the kebab mixture from the refrigerator, divide into small portions and shape each portion into 1½-inch diameter round balls.
  Flatten the balls into a cutlet shape (please see the pic above).
• Heat the oil in a frying pan or kadhai over medium heat. 
  Fry the kebabs in batches, flipping occasionally, until golden brown on both sides.
  Drain from the oil and transfer onto a paper towel or tissue-lined plate.
  Serve piping hot with ketchup or plum sauce (optional), onion rings, sliced lemons and the chopped coriander.

Chef Kapoor's Note: Ideally serve the kebabs with a tamarind and plum sauce.

For the sauce, you will need to chop and blend 2 plums with 2 tbsp tamarind extract, 2 tbsp tomato ketchup, 1 tbsp sugar, ½ tbsp red chilly powder and a pinch salt.

Mix all the ingredients and heat in a small saucepan, over low heat, along with ¼ cup to ½ cup water till it gains a sauce-like consistency. Refrigerate till ready to serve.

For the garam masala: Combine 1-inch piece dalcheeni or cinnamon stick, 2 tbsp jeera or cumin seeds, 2 tbsp dhania or coriander seeds, 1 chakra phool or star anise, 2-3 green elaichi or cardamom. On a tava or griddle, dry roast the spices over low heat and grind into a fine powder in a blender.

Chef Sarab Kapoor lives in Singapore and is a television personality, cookbook author and culinary consultant.

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