Mulayam Murgh kabab (Tender Chicken kebab)

Summer is the season of barbecue. So, one weekend, when we had some friends over, we thought barbecued food would go well with the World Cup match. Along with the usual burgers, I decided to make something Indian on the grill. Given that my daughter allows me only a very short window of time to make preparations, before she suddenly makes a judgment call that it is mommy time and does not want to be babysat by anyone else, I had to make something quick. So, this recipe was adapted from a traditional Indian kabab recipe but with ingredients I had at home and took less preparation time.

Ingredients:
Minced chicken – 1lb
Cilantro – half bunch
Green chillies – 7-8
Slivered almonds soaked in water– 10
Garlic cloves – 2
Ginger (grated) – 1 inch
Egg – 1
Bread crumbs – enough to bind the mixture
Butter – 1 tbsp
Salt & white pepper to taste
Garam masala – 2tsp

The original recipe used only egg yolk, cashews instead of almonds and no breadcrumbs. Also, the original recipe had instructions to put the kebab into skewers.

Here is my shortened version. While the little one took a morning nap, I blended the cilantro, chillies, garlic, ginger and almonds, with a little water, in my magic bullet. Note that the original recipe had cautioned not to use water. However, since I did not have much time and had to prepare a larger amount, I decided to use water and see where I land.

The egg (it takes too much time to separate the yolk from the white and is a wastage ;-) ), butter, salt and white pepper were added to the chicken with the blended cilantro mixture. Oh gosh! The mixture was so fluid that I didn't know how to roll them around skewers. So, I decided to use some bread crumbs and added the garam masala as well. Then, I left this mixture in the refrigerator without putting them on skewers.

When the grill was ready, we used an aluminum foil and sprayed it with some non stick spray. Then, we added a dollop of the chicken mince mixture and pressed the top to make them into the shape of small flattened kebabs. It was pretty easy to cook because no shape was needed and I finally delegated this to the guys ;-)

The outcome was quite tasty and it did save a lot of time. I realized I had definitely underestimated my daughter’s spice-taking capacity as I saw her happily munching away.