Skip to Content

Indian Style Kebabs with a Fresh Tomato Salad

Delicious Indian style kebabs with amazing flavor of fresh ginger, chili, cilantro and turmeric. They are crispy and buttery on the outside, with a pang of flavor inside. Perfect to pair with a fresh tomato salad, creamy delicious raita and fluffy naan. One of my favorite quick meals that work both as a weeknight and date night dish!

 

Indian Kebab

 

About the title of this dish

 

I have been debating back and forth whether on how I should present this recipe to you. I had to call them Indian Style Kebabs because it is Indian flavors of cilantro, turmeric, ginger and garlic, and serving it with Indian side dishes as raita and naan. 

 

However, I used minced beef meat, because I like the flavor of it better. And I know that is probably to curse in the church as we say in Norway (Maybe you could use 'All Hell broke loose', but cursing in the church is funnier, use that).

 

Of course, I understand if you want to change up the meat in this one. And it's fine. But either way you have to make this! It is beyond delicious. I often find minced meat a tiny bit boring, but not here, oh no. There are so many delicious ingredients inside these Indian style kebabs or meatballs. And it's not at all difficult.

 

Garlic, onion, ginger, chilis, turmeric, I meaaan YUM. I tried to keep this one simple and not go overboard with ingredients that are hard to find, and sometimes less is more. I think that is the case here, however, not too few. We do like our spices, don't we.

 

Garlic Cilantro Naan

 

How to Make These Indian Style Kebabs

 

Chop your onion and chilis as finely as you can. You want the balls to keep together, and the bigger the pieces the harder it is to fry them in one piece. Place your minced meat in a bowl and combine it with salt first. Whenever that's incorporated, add in the rest of the delicious ingredients. Mix with your hands until everything is well combined. Cover the bowl with foil and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

 

While this is resting, make your tomato salad. Chop your tomatoes and onions as finely as you prefer, place in a bowl. Add in 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Combine and set aside. Balsamic vinegar is a wonderful ingredient that you can drizzle on salads, deglaze pans and much more. If you really want the real deal, try Aceto Balsamico Di Modena IGP By Compagnia Del Montale, which is made in Italy. They say 'It Is Velvety, Viscous, And Pure Balsamic Vinegar'. Sounds amazing.

 

Indian Kebab

 

I would also make the raita at this point, and you can find my deliciously fresh raita here. And if you want to make your own naan, I would begin with them, as they need two hours to rise and the yoghurt needs to be at room temperature, click here to find my homemade naan with garlic and cilantro. It is so much better to make your own, so it's definitely worth it if you have the time! This is also why you should read the entire recipe before you begin cooking, to manage your time and not get any 'oh no I don't have the time for that but I really want to eat it'-surprises, we hate those.

 

 

Cooking Method

How you decide to cook these meatballs are up to you. When I am short on time, I fry them in a regular pan, or a grill pan would be great. When I have more time and want the real deal, I get the coal grill going. This really elevates the taste of the meatballs, but it's not always necessary. Decide for yourself, I suggest you make it several times and different cooking methods. Either way, I think you'll be happy with these Indian style kebabs.

 

Indian Kebab

 

If you want them to look more like kebabs you can shape each ball like a fat sigar, but I don't find that necessary, I just shape them to regular balls. Nevertheless, they are amazing and flavorful. If you decide to grill them, take a few balls on soaked bamboo sticks and brush with melted butter.

 

You could also get the grill on in your oven, take your bamboo sticks with meatballs on and place them in a pan and get them in the oven. Either way grill them for 5 minutes on each side, and try not to flip them more than necessary or you won't get that crispy exterior and there is a bigger chance for the balls to fall apart. This is also applicable for any kind of method you decide to go with - don't flip more than necessary.

 

Indian Kebab

Summarized:

  • Fry in regular pan or grill pan, or
  • Grill in oven, or
  • Coal grill (or gas if you have to but ahh..)

 

I guess you have to make Indian style kebabs at least 3 times now. Isn't that fantastic?

 

Serve with tomato salad, warm naan and soothing raita. Enjoy!

 

Tell me what you thought of this recipe either in the comment section below, or tag me @thegingerwithspice on Instagram. And don't forget to Pin it for later!

 

 

 

In order to keep the blog up and running this post contains affiliate links, it will be at no extra cost to you, please read the disclosure for more information.

📖 Recipe

Indian Kebab

Indian Style Kebabs with a Fresh Tomato Salad

Yield: 4 people
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes

Indian style kebabs with fresh flavors of cilantro, ginger, garlic and turmeric. Beyond delicious dinner that is easy to put together.

Ingredients

Indian Style Kebabs

  • 400 gr ground meat, of your choice
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 2-3 green chilis, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 4-5 cm ginger, 1.5-2 inch, finely chopped
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoon cilantro, or parsley, finely chopped + more for garnish
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 3-4 tablespoon natural yoghurt
  • 1 tablespoon lemon, juice, freshly squeezed
  • 4 tablespoon dried breadcrumbs, (Norwegian: Griljermel, strøkavring)
  • melted butter, for brushing

Tomato Salad

  • 3-4 tomatoes, chopped
  • ½ red onion, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Serve with

  • raita, * see notes
  • naan, ** see notes

Instructions

  1. Chop your onion and chilis as finely as you can. You want the balls to keep together, and the bigger the pieces the harder it is to fry them in one piece. Place your minced meat in a bowl and combine it with salt first. Whenever that's incorporated, add in the rest of the delicious ingredients. Mix with your hands until everything is well combined. Cover the bowl with foil and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. 
  2. While this is resting, make your tomato salad. Chop your tomatoes and onions as finely as you prefer, place in a bowl. Add in 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Combine and set aside. Remember to make side dishes as raita* and naan** too.
  3. Make balls or fat sigar shapes and brush with melted butter. Either place them on soaked bamboo sticks and grill them in the oven (remember to place them in a pan), or on the grill for 5 minutes each side - or fry them in a pan when short on time. Do not over flip.
  4. Serve with tomato salad, soothing raita and naan (preferably homemade).
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: ¼
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 402Total Fat: 24.1gSaturated Fat: 6.9gCholesterol: 89mgSodium: 454mgCarbohydrates: 16.6gFiber: 2.9gSugar: 6.7gProtein: 29.5g

Nutrition information isn't always accurate, estimate for informational purposes only.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or tag @thegingerwithspice on Instagram, I'd love to see!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Skip to Recipe