Chapli Kebab
چپلی کباب
Chapli kebab comes from Peshawar, where it is fried in huge flat pans of sizzling beef fat and served on naan with a squeeze of lemon. It is a flat, rough-edged kebab, as wide as a palm, full of tomato, onion, green chili and the sour crunch of . This home version follows the Peshawari style: coarse beef mince with fat, crushed coriander seeds and , a little maize flour to bind it, and a shallow fry in a .
- ⏱ Total: 55 min
- Prep: 30 min
- Cook: 25 min
- Medium
- Serves 4
Method
Tap a step when it is done.
Dry-roast the coriander seeds and cumin in a pan for 1–2 minutes until fragrant. Crush them coarsely with the anardana in a mortar; you want crunchy pieces, not a powder.
Squeeze the chopped onion in your fist to remove its juice. Deseed the chopped tomato and let it drain in a sieve for a few minutes.
In a bowl, combine the mince with the onion, chopped tomato, green chilies, ginger, coriander, the crushed spice mix, chili flakes, black pepper, salt, maize flour and egg. Mix and knead well for 3–4 minutes, then cover and chill for 30 minutes.
Heat the or ghee in a wide over medium-high heat until a pinch of mince sizzles at once. It should be about 5 mm deep.
With wet hands, flatten a portion of mince into a thin round about 12 cm wide and 1 cm thick, with ragged edges. Press a tomato slice into the centre if you like and slide it into the hot fat.
Fry for 3–4 minutes until the underside has a deep brown crust, then flip carefully and fry the other side for 3–4 minutes, spooning hot fat over the top. Cook 2 kebabs at a time.
Lift the kebabs out, let the excess fat drip off, and serve straight away on naan with lemon wedges, sliced onion and green chutney.
Kitchen notes
Squeeze the onion and drain the tomato well. Too much moisture is the reason chapli kebabs fall apart in the pan.
Keep the spices coarse. The crunch of crushed coriander seeds and anardana is what makes a chapli kebab taste like Peshawar.
Don't move the kebab for the first 3 minutes. Once the crust has formed it will release from the pan and flip cleanly.
The pride of Peshawar
Chapli kebab is the signature street food of Peshawar and the wider Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region. In the old city and along the famous kebab stretches, cooks shape the mince by hand and lay it into wide pans of sizzling beef fat, then serve it on fresh naan with lemon, onions and green chutney. It has spread across Pakistan, and today it is just as common at roadside stalls in Lahore and Karachi and at family dinners at home.
What makes it different
A chapli kebab is coarse and rustic, unlike a smooth seekh kebab. The mince is ground only once, and it is mixed with chunky ingredients: chopped tomato and onion, green chilies, ginger, fresh coriander and coarsely crushed spices. Two flavours define it. Crushed coriander seeds, roasted first, give a warm, citrusy crunch, and anardana adds small bursts of sourness that cut through the richness of the meat.
The binder is traditionally maize flour together with an egg, which keeps the kebab tender while holding the loose mixture together. Because the mixture is wet, squeezing the onion and draining the tomato is essential. The kebabs are shaped thin and wide with ragged edges, which crisp up beautifully in the hot fat.
Frying in fat
In Peshawar, chapli kebabs are fried in , rendered beef fat, which gives them their deep, meaty flavour and crisp edges. At home, ghee is the best substitute. Use enough to come halfway up the kebab and keep it hot, so the outside crisps quickly instead of soaking up fat.
Serving and storing
Eat chapli kebabs straight from the pan, as they lose their crisp edges as they sit. Serve on naan with lemon, sliced onion, chutney and plain yogurt. Raw shaped kebabs freeze well for up to 2 months; cooked ones keep for 2 days in the fridge and should be reheated on a hot tawa.
Questions people ask
Why is it called chapli kebab?
The name is usually linked to chappal, the flat sandal, because of the kebab's flat, wide shape. Another explanation links it to the Pashto word chaprikh, meaning flat.
Do I have to fry it in beef fat?
No. Charbi gives the authentic Peshawari taste, but ghee is the closest substitute and oil works too. Use enough to come about halfway up the kebab.
Can I freeze chapli kebabs?
Yes. Shape the raw kebabs, freeze them between sheets of plastic or baking paper, and fry from frozen on medium heat for a minute or two longer per side.
Nutrition (estimate, per serving)
- Calories
- 470
- Protein
- 27 g
- Fat
- 36 g
- Carbs
- 9 g
