Chicken Bihari Kebab

For the longest time I used to think that Bihari Kebab is only made out of ground beef. During my last visit to visit Mahesh's(my husband) parents in Atlanta, we went to eat at a restaurant called 'Lukma'. Mom ordered Chicken Bihari kebab and it was just delicious.

I returned to Austin but the taste just haunted me and I had to give it a try on my own. So I started reading online and I found there are several ways to make them with beef.

This is a recipe with some of my personal favourites in grilling ingredients that I tried with and found very pleasing results.

Ingredients:
2 lbs Chicken breast fillets cut in thin strips length wise

Marinade ingredients:
1/4 cup yogurt
1/4 of raw medium size raw papaya
1 tbsp amchur
1/2 lime freshly squeezed
1.5 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp red chili powder
2-3 green chillies
2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp Shaan Bihari Kebab Masala
Salt to taste

Preparation:
Cut the onions in wedges and saute them in a pan until they turn golden brown
Let the onions cool down, and then in a blender, grind the onions, green chillies, ginger, garlic and yogurt(for providing the liquid consistency while grinding)
Once that becomes a paste, add the raw papaya cut into pieces and blend.

For preparing the marinade, add the contents from the blender in a long dish (so the chicken pieces can sit lengthwise), add the rest of the marinade ingredients, add the meat.
Cover with a lid, and refrigerate overnight.

Cooking on a grill:
Make sure the heat is mild/low, as the breast pieces are very delicate and will burn off easily.
Take some skewers and arrange the meat in length.
Before putting on the grill, make sure there's plenty of marinade on all sides, especially the bottom of the meat.
Spray some oil for protective coating and effective cooking.
Let the meat cook on the bottom, do not turn the meat until the bottom is done completely else the marinade will not come off with the meat when you turn.
Cook to completion.

Cooking in a conventional oven:
Most kebab dishes taste good on a grill, however in this case, I found cooking in the oven more effective as we can carefully regulate the heat and broil it when needed in controlled conditions.
All the instructions are the same for placement of the meat and grilling, except the temperature conditions.
I cooked the meat on lo Broil settings until the 1st turn of the kebabs. For the second turn, you can put it in high broil as the breast meat cooks very fast. Really, what you are broiling at this point is the marinade.

Serve with yogurt raita or fresh onions and lime.