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Chapli Kabab (Flat Minced Beef Patties with Pomegranate Seed)

Name: Chapli Kabab (Flat Minced Beef Patties with Pomegranate Seed)
Prep time: 24 min
Total time: 54 min
Cuisine: Pakistani
Ingredients: beef — 700 g; beef suet — 100 g; onions — 300 g; tomatoes — 250 g; coriander seeds — 30 g; pomegranate seeds — 15 g; red chili flakes — 5 g; cumin seeds — 5 g; green chilies — 400 g; salt — 10 g; corn flour — 15 g; egg — 50 g; coriander — 11 g; beef dripping — 200 g

Chapli Kabab (Flat Minced Beef Patties with Pomegranate Seed) reads umami 5.6, richness 5.1 and fruity 3.6 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Pakistani main, about 54 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 5.9 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 4.6 / 10
Sour & Bright — 2.7 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 2.1 / 10
Rich & Fat — 5.5 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 4.0 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 5.6 · Richness 5.1 · Fruity 3.6 · Salinity 3.6 · Allium 3.1 · Heat 3.1 · Sweetness 3.1 · Herbaceous 2.8 · Warm Spice 2.5 · Floral 2.4 · Sourness 2.1 · Earthy 1.9 · Citrus 1.8 · Nutty 1.2 · Bitterness 0.9

What's in it (14)

beef — 700 g
beef suet — 100 g
onions — 300 g
tomatoes — 250 g
coriander seeds — 30 g
pomegranate seeds — 15 g
red chili flakes — 5 g
cumin seeds — 5 g
green chilies — 400 g
salt — 10 g
corn flour — 15 g
egg — 50 g
coriander — 11 g
beef dripping — 200 g

Time & effort: about 54 min (24 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 67.1 kcal, 8.2 g protein, 2.1 g fat, 4.9 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains egg — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (8 steps)

Mix the minced beef with the chopped suet, onions, green chillies, chopped tomato and fresh coriander. Squeeze the mixture through your fingers for 3 or 4 minutes so the fat distributes; the suet is what makes a chapli kabab juicy and it is not optional.
Crush the coriander seeds, pomegranate seeds, chilli flakes and cumin coarsely in a mortar. The grind stays deliberately rough. Anardana is the sour note that makes this kabab Pashtun rather than generic, and ground fine it disappears.
Work the crushed spices and the salt into the meat.
Fold in the maize flour and the beaten egg, which bind a patty that is otherwise too wet to handle.
Chill the mixture 30 minutes so it firms up.
With wet hands, flatten portions into very thin discs about 12 cm across and no more than 1 cm thick, and press a round of tomato into the top of each.
Heat the dripping in a wide flat pan to about 3 mm depth and fry the kababs over medium-high heat for 4 minutes on the first side, until a dark crust forms, then 3 minutes on the second. They should sizzle hard the whole time. Serve immediately with naan, sliced onion and green chutney.
Substitutions: ghee can stand in for the beef dripping.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Sausage and Peppers — Italian-American
Masak Lemak Cili Api (Negeri Sembilan Turmeric and Coconut Curry) — Malaysian
Skillet Chicken Curry with Peppers — Indian
Butter Chicken Meatballs — Indian
Baked Ziti with Italian Sausage — Italian-American

Keep reading: what umami, richness, fruity mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.