Kabappe – Kababs In An Appe Pan

Ever since I got over my fear of using the appe pan, I had been wanting to use it again and again and again. When I cooked Dhanshak a couple of days back, I made kababs (kebab – we Parsi’s call them kabab) but I did not want to deep dry them. As most of you know, I use adequate oil (actually, more than adequate) in my food and yet, I refrain from deep frying food at home. What better chance than this, to use the appe pan.

What inspired this recipe…

I took inspiration from the tiny Muslim cafes and carts that dot all of Mumbai. Those chefs nailed the flavour so brilliantly. That was precisely what I was itching to recreate. The flavour of those kababs is so firmly etched in my memory and on my palate. They allow the flavour of the mutton kheema to shine and they enhance it with a few precise ingredients. That is exactly what I did and voila! Kababs perfectly recreated at home and… sone pe suhaga… sans any extra oil as these puppies aren’t deep fried. 

If you are wondering whether the kheema was cooked to correct doneness in the appe pan or whether the kababs tasted as delish as they would have, had they been deep fried, don’t take my word for it; read the recipe carefully and give it a try. You can thank me, later. *very evil grin*

Ingredients - Part 1:

500 grams mutton / beef / buff mince
2 onions, cut in small dices
3-4 green chilies, chopped fine
2 heaped tablespoons ginger-garlic paste
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
Salt to taste
3 tablespoons oil

Ingredients - Part 2:

Cooked Kheema
2 medium or 3 small potatoes, boiled, peeled, and mashed smooth (I used a ricer)
2 green chilies, chopped fine
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon red chili powder (I used MDH Deghi Mirch Powder)
½ teaspoon pepper powder
Salt, only if needed – to adjust seasoning
A large handful coriander leaves, finely chopped
A large handful mint leaves, finely chopped
¾ cup fine breadcrumbs
3 eggs, seasoned with salt and pepper, well-beaten
Oil as needed, for the appe pan

Method – Part 1: 

1. Rinse the mince (of course) in a sieve or a colander. Keep aside for the excess water to drain.
   
   
   
   
   
2. In a non-stick pan (or wok), heat 3 tablespoons oil, add the cumin seeds and allow to splutter.
   
   
   
   
   
3. Add onions and green chilies and sauté.
   
   
   
   
   
4. When the onions are just about to turn translucent, add the drained kheema and continue sautéing, on high flame, for a minute.
   
   
   
   
   
5. Add the ginger-garlic paste and continue sautéing the kheema until it loses the clumped-up look and begins to turn crumbly and grainy.
   
   
   
   
6. Add salt to taste, reduce the flame, and continue cooking for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring intermittently. Do NOT add any water to the kheema.
7. The kheema after 3 to 4 minutes will be cooked to 80 percent doneness. At that point, turn off the stove and empty the kheema into a large platter/thali.

 Method – Part 2: 

1. Add the mashed potatoes, 2 chopped green chilies, turmeric powder, red chili powder, pepper powder, coriander leaves, and mint leaves to the cooked kheema.
2. Mix the ingredients into the kheema with your hands. Kind of as you would when kneading dough. It should all come together smoothly and nicely.
   
   
   
   
   
3. Check seasoning; add/adjust, if needed.
4. Keep the mince aside, covered, for about 30 minutes.

 Method: Cooking Kabappe: 

1. Take breadcrumbs in a large plate.
   
   
   
   
   
2. Grease your hands with a little oil (to ensure the mince does not stick to your hands) and make kababs the size of ping-pong balls from the marinated mince and put them in the plate that has breadcrumbs. Continue making the kababs until all the mince is used up. (I usually use a small ice cream scoop to get equal sized kababs.)
   
   
   
   
   
3. Once all kababs are made, roll them lightly, but properly, in the breadcrumbs. The kababs must be well coated, all over.
   
   
   
   
   
4. Heat the appe pan. Add half a teaspoon oil into each indentation. When the oil heats up, turn the flame to its LOWEST SETTING.
   
   
   
   
   
5. Dip each kabab into the beaten eggs and put one kabab into each indentation.
   
   
   
   
   
6. Add a quarter teaspoon of beaten egg over each kabab. You may, of course, dribble the extra egg with your fingers. I did. (The oil, at this point, though merely half a teaspoon, will foam, as it does in a regular frying pan - don't give it a second thought)
   
   
   
   
7. Cover the pan immediately and cook the kabappe on LOW heat for 2 minutes or until they turn golden. (yes you will have to uncover the pan to check... sigh!)
8. Flip the appe with a teaspoon or a fork.
   
   
   
   
   
9. Cover and cook the other side, on LOW heat, for 2 minutes or until they turn golden.
10. Once both sides are golden, remove the Kabappes into a plate.
11. Continue making Kabappes until all the mince is used up. This quantity makes 32 kababs.
    
    
    
    
    

 Chef Notes: 

1. Please note, dice is different from finely chopped and for these kababs we need the onions cut into small dices. 
2. Very little masala goes into making these kababs. As I mentioned earlier, the idea is to allow the mince to shine. The added chilies, green herbs and the little bit of spice all add up to ensure that happens. 
3. I would advise the use of fine mince (not paste-y though).
4. You may increase the green chilies if you prefer spicy kababs. Me, I wouldn’t. I want to taste the mince, not the chilies.
5. Do mash the potatoes well. The blend, when mixed, should be such that one is unable to decipher mince from the potatoes. 
6. The kheema mixture will seem dry when cooked but if you taste it when it is cooked to 80% doneness, your palate will experience moist kheema. That’s the diced onion doing its job; lending moistness to the kabab.
7. Every time you add new kababs to the appe pan, do remember to add half a teaspoon oil into each indentation.
8. This quantity made 32 kababs. Don’t consider 32 to be too many. These babies get polished off in a jiffy.
9. IMPORTANT: I cannot stress enough the importance of cooking this dish on LOW heat from Point 5 to Point 11.
10. Heartfelt thanks to Zaraius Contractor for the cover photo advise and edit. 
11. You may share the direct blog-link of the recipe/s but do NOT publish my recipes, and/or my photographs, on any blogsite or website without my explicit consent or attempt to pass off my recipe/s as your own. You will be held accountable for plagiarism.

Some more photographs: