Cheddar Chicken Kabab Pakistani Recipes

What are Cheese Chicken Kababs?

“Kabab”, which is spelled in many difference ways ( kebap, kabob, kebob, or kebab) simply means piece of meat or vegetable thread onto a skewer and grilled. It is a traditional style of cooking in the Middle East, Eastern Mediterranean, and South Asia. In South Asia, kababs also refers to patty style appetizers, like spinach and potato cakes. The chicken cheddar kebab is a fusion variation of its traditional counter part : The chicken seekh kabab. They are made with mince and shaped into long kababs on skewers. Usually made on an open grill, you can get the perfect results at home on a stove top. Traditionally, when “cheese” is used in Indian and Pakistani food, it is usually Paneer i.e Cottage cheese. Whenever European style cheeses are used in Desi cooking, it automatically becomes a style of fusion food. Although, most mainstream Indian Pakistani food now, use European style cheese in a lot of recipes. I was going through my recipes and realised I haven’t made any traditional skewer style kababs for the blog, which is ironic because we make SOME form of kebabs almost every week! So here it is, in all its glory and simplicity the chicken cheddar kababs.

Ingredients you need to make the kebabs

Here are the 12 ingredients you will need to make Chicken cheddar kebab, plus some notes on ingredient selection.

How to make and shape Cheese Kababs

Click Here to watch steps in a Reel I made for these kebabs

STEP 1 – Make the kabab mixture/dough

To do so, you simply chuck all your herbs and onion into a food processor and process until its nice and finely chopped.

Then you need to squeeze out all the water from the mixture. I wear gloves while doing this, because my skin is senstitive to garlic. You can also use a nutmilk bag or a cheese cloth to do this.

Add the herb mixture and all the other ingredients in a bowl and knead them by hand. A stand mixer with a paddle attachment would also do the job.

I add cheese last so that it gets less time while being kneaded. This avoid cheese to soften up from the heat of our hands.

STEP 2 – Shaping the Kebabs

To divide the mixture into equal portions, use a tablespoon or an icecream scooper. Scoop out small portions on to a plate.

PROTIPI find the easiest way to shape these kababs are when they are cold. So after portioning, I stick the plate in the freezer for about 15 mins before shaping. This makes the mixture firm and easy to handle

To shape the kababs, grease the palm of your hands with oil so that the mixture doesn’t stick. Shape them into thick cigars by squeezing and rolling them in your palms.

Then you insert a skewer on one end of the kabab.

NOTE: I am using a makeshift skewer aka straw for this step. You can use the regular metal ones or wooden sticks too. I shape the kebab around the straw some more and pull it out. IF you are using a wooden or metal skewer, you can also leave the kababs on it and grill it as is.

Shape all the kebabs, pull out from the straw and prepare to pan fry.

STEP 3 – Cooking the kebabs

I panfry these kebabs at medium heat for 3 to 4 mins, tossing and flipping for even browning.

NOTE:Avoid overcooking the kebabs as it will lead to dry hard kebabs and burnt cheese. Chicken mince cooks very fast, don’t worry about it being raw.

Best Cooking Method for Chicken Kababs

In order of the best results:

Can I make this recipe with any other meat?

Sure! You can make this recipe with beef, lamb or mutton. You will need to add 1 inch chunk of ginger in your herb mix. And your grilling / pan frying time would increase to 6 – 7 mins. DO NOT skip the skewers for beef kebabs, as it can shrink a lot without it. I would say this, beef kababs require a special set of instructions and tips that would go beyond the scope of this post but hopefully I should write one soon on just Beef cheese kababs.

Why does my cheese melt and burn in the pan?

When I posted this recipe on Instagram, most of you have had this issue with other cheese kababs recipes you’ve tried. This is something you can’t avoid completely. There will be some oozing whenever there is cheese incorporated in kabab and when the kabab has no coating. But we can minimize it by a LOT

Can I make the kababs without egg?

Some of my readers avoid consuming egg so I’ve tried the recipe for you all without eggs too. You can skip the egg and add an extra half onion instead for similar results.

Can I freeze Chicken Kebabs? And for how long?

Yes! Absolutely! To freeze the kababs, pan fry them for 2 mins or until they change color. Let the kababs cool, transfer them into ziplock bags and freeze for upto 2 months. Freezing the kababs raw is not such a good idea, because they leach out moisture that way and you end up with dry kebabs when you fry them eventually.

Can I shape the kababs without the skewers?

The hole provides an airvent. When you grill the kebabs, they shrink towards the pan, which makes the hole bigger but overall preserves the shape of your kebabs. You can still shape the kebabs without a skewer but you might see minor reduction in size of the kebab once cooked.

Why does my kebab become sticky and hard to handle?

One answer – Moisture. If your mixture is holding a lot of moisture, it will become difficult to handle and shape. Here are a few things that help

Ground the chicken yourself from a breast or thigh fillet instead of buying mince.Squeeze out water from the herb mixture to reduce overall water contentFreeze the kebabs for a few minutes before shaping.Last resort is to add more bread crumbs to increase binding.

Serving Suggestions

These kababs are a meal on their own honestly! I love the fact that they are so uni-cuisine. The flavors are so neutral that they go well with everything! Here are a couple of my favorite pairing

A simple kebab platter with Mint Chutney, and sliced onions on the sideServe with boiled rice and lentils for lunch.Serve with masala dal and roti or flat bread.And My personal favorite! for kebab wraps with more cheddar, onions and lettuce and a tortilla to go withYou can also always go simple with a side salad.