Minced meat or chunks with various spices and marinades, cooked over charcoal heat. Kebab are hot favorites as staters or accompaniment with drinks.
Kab-be-aab literally means roasting without water. Kebabs are of Arabic origins, brought to India by traders and invaders. It has a vast variety, mainly non-vegetarian but also in vegetarian variants. Every kind of meat can be used for different versions. Chicken and mutton are most popular.
Kebabs can be shaped in different forms for different cooking styles, tastes and textures. Mince on skewers, roasted over coal, is called seekh kebab. Seekh means stick, or skewer. It is also pronounced as sheekh in some places and sheesh in some Western countries. Instead of mince, marinated meat chunks can also be roasted in a similar way. Mince cutlets and chunks may also be pan fried. A recent trend is to further prepare the kebabs after roasting, by adding butter, cream, spices, and sauces. For vegetarian kebabs, meat is replaced by vegetables, mushrooms, and cottage cheese.
In many preparations large squares of capsicum, onion, and tomatoes are added between the kebab pieces on skewers and roasted along with the kebab. They give an additional layer of taste and texture to the platter.
