Mutton Seekh Kebab

Seekh kebabs are the reason people stand around charcoal grills in the cold outside kebab shops across Pakistan and northern India. The word seekh means skewer, and the technique is ancient: seasoned minced meat pressed by hand onto flat metal skewers, held over live coals, and turned until the outside chars and the inside stays pink and juicy. The fat in the meat bastes the kebab from within as it cooks, dripping into the coals and sending up smoke that flavors everything it touches.

The key to a good seekh kebab is the mince. It needs to be fatty, ideally from the shoulder or leg with about 20 percent fat, and it needs to be kneaded aggressively until it becomes sticky and cohesive enough to hold onto the skewer without falling off. This kneading develops the myosin proteins in the meat, which act as a natural binder. No egg, no breadcrumb, no flour. The meat holds itself together through technique alone.

The spice mix is restrained compared to a curry. Cumin, coriander, garam masala, and chili powder provide warmth and heat. Raw onion goes in finely chopped, squeezed dry, because wet onion will steam the kebab from inside and make it fall apart. Green chilies, fresh coriander, and fresh mint go in at the end and stay in rough pieces, providing bursts of freshness and heat in every bite. The mixture chills for at least an hour before shaping, which firms the fat and makes the kebabs easier to mold.

On a charcoal grill, seekh kebabs take about eight to ten minutes, turned every two minutes. In a pan or under a broiler, they take the same time but need oil and high heat to develop the char that makes them worth eating. Serve them straight off the skewer onto a piece of naan with raw onion rings, green chutney, and a squeeze of lemon. They do not need a plate. They barely need a table.