Reshmi kababs take their name from reshm, the Urdu word for silk, because of their soft, smooth texture. Boneless chicken is ground with green chillies, coriander, ginger and garlic, then chilled, shaped on skewers and grilled over coal or baked. A short smoke with hot coal at the end gives the flavour of a barbecue, even when they are cooked in a home oven.
Put all the ingredients except the coal in a chopper or blender. Grind to a fine mince.
Refrigerate the mixture for 1 hour, as chilling makes it easier to shape.
With wet hands, press the mixture around barbecue skewers.
Grill over coal, or bake at 200°C for about 15 minutes, until cooked through.
Slide the kababs into a dish with a lid. Place a small foil cup among them, add the red-hot coal, cover and smoke for a few minutes. Do this in a well-ventilated place.
If the mixture slips from the skewers, chill it for longer or add a spoon of gram flour.
To cook without skewers, shape into flat kababs and shallow fry.
Rubina Shaukat is a professional chef who teaches cooking at a government technical college in Pakistan. She manages IngRecipe, sharing recipes and practical guides to ingredients and kitchen basics for home cooks. She also runs the Home Ingrecipe kitchen in Multan.
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