Chapli kebab

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Chapli kabab
Chapli Kebab.jpg
Lamb chapli kabab served at a Balti restaurant in Birmingham, UK
Type Kebab
CourseAppetiser, main course, or side dish
Place of origin Peshawar, Pakistan [1] [2] [3] [4]
Associated cuisine South Asian cuisine
Main ingredients Minced beef, mutton, or chicken
Ingredients generally usedVarious herbs and spices
Similar dishesBurgers
  •   Commons-logo.svg Media: Chapli kabab

Chapli kabab [a] is a Pashtun-style minced kebab made from ground beef, mutton or chicken with various spices in the shape of a patty. The chapli kabab originated from the city of Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan and is today found across South Asia. [5] [6] [3]

Contents

Chapli kabab is served in thousands of kebab shops in Pakistan, Afghanistan and India. [5] [7] [8] Such eateries have rapidly expanded in other cities as well. Today, the chapli kebab is featured on the menu of Afghan, Indian and Pakistani restaurants across the world. [8] [9] Chapli kababs can be served and eaten hot with naan or as a bun kebab. [10]

The name chapli may be derived from the Pashto word chaprikh/chapdikh/chapleet, meaning "flat" – alluding to the kebab's light, round and flattened texture. [10] Alternatively, the name may be derived from chappal , the Indic word for sandals – relating the average shape and size of a kebab to that of a chappal sole. [11] [12]

The tradition of eating grilled meat, skewered on sticks, existed in the Indian subcontinent through the centuries, with the 12th-century Sanskrit text Manasollasa documenting a recipe used to prepare what is today known as the chapli kebab. [13]

Ingredients and preparation

The chapli kebab is prepared with raw, marinated mince and the meat can be either beef or lamb/mutton. The main ingredients include wheat flour, various herbs and spices such as chili powder, coriander leaves, followed by smaller quantities of onions, tomatoes, eggs, ginger, coriander or cumin seeds, green chillies, corn starch, salt and pepper, baking powder and citric juice, like that of lime or lemon. [7] [10]

The kebabs can be fried shallow or deep in vegetable cooking oil over medium heat. The traditional chapli kebab is prepared by frying the kebabs in lamb fat or cow fat over wood-fired stoves to lend an organic flavour. This approach is avoided by some gastronomists, citing health-conscious reasons. [14]

Serving

Once cooked, chapli kebabs can be served and garnished with parsley, chopped onions and tomatoes, along with other accompaniments such as various chutney sauces, salad, yoghurt, pickles or nuts. [15] [16] [17] The chapli kebab is best served aromatic, moist and spicy. [18] It is considered a specialty of Pashtun cuisine and often served to guests. [19] The kebab is commonly consumed in meals with bread such as naan, rice dishes such as Kabuli pulao, or wrapped in fast food. [8] In winters, green tea such as kahwah may traditionally be served alongside it, while cold drinks are preferred in the summers. [8]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Pashto: چپلي کباب, Hindi: चपली कबाब, Urdu and Hindko: چپلی کباب, Dari: چپلی کباب
    1. ↑ Taylor Sen, Colleen; Bhattacharyya, Sourish; Saberi, Helen (2023-02-23). The Bloomsbury Handbook of Indian Cuisine. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 196. ISBN   978-1-350-12863-7. Archived from the original on 2023-07-15. Retrieved 2023-06-19. Another fried kebab is chapli kebab that may have originated Afghanistan and in Peshawar, Pakistan. The name comes either from Pushto chapleet, meaning 'flat', or from chappal, Hindi for sandal, alluding to its shape.
    2. ↑ "What Makes Chapli Kebab A Meat Lover's Dream Come True?". Slurrp. Archived from the original on 2023-04-26. Retrieved 2023-04-26. The Chapli Kabab is said to have its origins in Peshawar, Pakistan.
    3. 1 2 Bailey, Natasha (2023-01-18). "What Makes Pakistan's Chapli Kababs Different From Others?". Tasting Table. Archived from the original on 2023-04-26. Retrieved 2023-04-26. The Chapli kabab is one of Pakistan's most beloved dishes. This particular kabab was reportedly first created in Peshawar, in the northwestern corner of the country.
    4. ↑ "Eating Chapli Kababs in Northern Pakistan". The Localist. 2015-03-08. Archived from the original on 2016-05-17. Retrieved 2023-04-26. In Pakistan, chapli kabab originally comes from the northern areas, in particular Peshawer, capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of pakistan.
    5. 1 2 Burhanpurwala, Alifiya (3 June 2025). "7 Best Chapli Kebabs In Mumbai That Kebab Lovers Must Try". Curly Tales. Retrieved 1 December 2025.
    6. ↑ "What Makes Chapli Kebab A Meat Lover's Dream Come True?". Slurrp. Archived from the original on 2023-04-26. Retrieved 2023-04-26. The Chapli Kabab is said to have its origins in Peshawar, Pakistan.
    7. 1 2 Burman, Divya. "Peshawari Chappali Kebab". NDTV Food. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
    8. 1 2 3 4 Shinwari, Sher Alam (13 October 2013). "On the menu: Krazy about (Chapli) kebab". Dawn. Archived from the original on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
    9. ↑ "Chapli Kebab: The Flat Minced Meat Marvel Is An Explosion of Flavours You Must Not Miss". 27 October 2017. Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
    10. 1 2 3 Khan, Palwasha (2021-01-23). "Eating Chapli Kababs in Northern Pakistan". The Localist. Archived from the original on 2016-05-17. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
    11. ↑ Sen, Colleen Taylor; Bhattacharyya, Sourish; Saberi, Helen (23 February 2023). The Bloomsbury Handbook of Indian Cuisine. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 196. Another fried kebab is chapli kebab that may have originated in Peshawar. The name comes either from Pushto chalpleet, meaning 'flat', or from chappal, Hindi for sandal, alluding to its shape.
    12. ↑ Mittmann, Karin; Ihsan, Zafar (1991). Culture Shock!: Pakistan . Graphic Arts Center Publishing Company. p.  104. ISBN   9781558680593.
    13. ↑ Sanghvi, Vir (23 July 2024). "The Taste by Vir Sanghvi: From tandoori chicken to kebabs; the evolution of Indian cuisine". Hindustan Times . Retrieved 25 November 2025. As the food historians Colleen Taylor Sen writes in her Feasts and Fasts: a History of Food in India, the grilling of meat "directly on a fire, skewered on sticks was common in ancient Mesopotamia and in the Indus Valley Civilisation." This tradition continued to exist in India through the centuries; the Manasollasa, a 12th century text, has recipes for what we would call kababs those days. It is wrong to believe, says Sen, "that elaborate meat dishes appeared only with the arrival of the Muslims. Early texts even have recipes that are very similar to today's chapli or seekh kababs."
    14. ↑ Malik, Shiza (27 July 2015). "Khyber's most delicious export". Dawn. Archived from the original on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
    15. ↑ Usmani, Sumayya. "Beef chapli kebab with pomegranate chutney". BBC Radio 4. Archived from the original on 10 April 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
    16. ↑ Webb, Lois Sinaiko; Roten, Lindsay Grace (2009). The Multicultural Cookbook for Students. ABC-CLIO. p. 102. ISBN   9780313375590.
    17. ↑ Agha, Bilal (25 March 2016). "Weekend grub: Could these chapli kebabs from Peshawar be the best in Pakistan?". Dawn. Archived from the original on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
    18. ↑ Dupree, Louis (2014). Afghanistan. Princeton University Press. p. 231. ISBN   9781400858910.
    19. ↑ Khaliq, Fazal (16 February 2012). "Comfort food: Keeping warm with kebabs". The Express Tribune. Archived from the original on 19 July 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
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