Servings : Serves 4-5
Nothing like a good BBQ platter, especially when you have friends and family over.
Here are my recipes for the three succulent BBQ meats displayed in the photo.
On the left are the famous Mishkaki, a famous E/African meat-delicacy. Tender steak/fillet is marinated and then skewered and grilled until tender, the result is a succulent, moist and delicious dish of meat morsels.
In the middle is Tandoori Chicken, a fiery BBQ chicken dish.
And on the right are miniature sized delicate and soft grilled Seekh Kababs. If you’ve been to Mombasa (E/Africa) then you probably know the famous Mamadi/Recoda kababs….this is their authentic recipe.
Ingredients for Mishkaki
- 1 kg beef steak, cubed
- 1 tbsp ginger paste
- 1 tbsp garlic paste
- 2-3 tbsp grated raw papaya (acts as a tenderizer)
- 1-2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 tbsp tomato paste/puree
- 1 tbsp tamarind paste or lemon juice
- 1 tbsp curry powder or tandoori powder
Ingredients for Tandoori Chicken
- 1 chicken, skin removed and cut into 8-10 pieces
- 1 tbsp garlic paste
- 1 tbsp ginger paste
- 1 tbsp tomato paste/puree
- 1-2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup plain yoghurt
- 2 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 heaped tbsp tandoori masala powder (if your tandoori masala is spicy, then use less and add a bit of red colouring to the marinade)
- juice of one a lemon
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 tbsp oil
Ingredients for Mini Seekh Kababs/Mamadi
- 1 kg beef mince (ask your butcher for ‘kabab’ mince, they normally grind/mince it 2-3 times to make it extra smooth and add some percentage of fat-content to keep the kabab mixture nice and moist)
- 1 bunch fresh coriander
- 1 medium sized onion
- 1-2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp garlic paste
- 1 tbsp ginger paste
- 2 green chillies
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp freshly ground cumin powder
- 1 tsp black pepper powder
Instructions
For the Mishkaki (Boneless Beef/Steak)
Mix all the ingredients well, and then marinate the beef in the marinade preferably overnight for the meat to tenderize.
Skewer the meat, and cook over a hot grill or under an oven broiler until tender. You can brush a bit of oil during the cooking process so that the meat doesn’t dry out. Be careful not to overcook as this will dry and toughen the meat.
For the Tandoori Chicken
Make 2-3 deep slits on each piece of chicken, then mix the pieces in the marinade. The slitting ensures that the flavour from the marinade goes all the way into the chicken, and also helps with quick and even cooking. Refrigerate covered preferably overnight for best results, but even up to 4-6 hours is OK.
You can taste the marinade before adding your chicken and adjust salt/chili. Remember that it needs to be a bit salty because the chicken is without salt and it will go into that marinade, so don’t leave the marinade bland. If you prefer a more vibrant colour, add a few drops of food colouring and mix well.
BBQ this on a grill over hot coals, using low heat to ensure the chicken is cooked through. Make sure you oil the grill so that the chicken doesn’t stick, and turn the pieces over every few minutes to get all sides equally done. Alternatively you can grill these in an oven at around 200 C until chicken is done. Similarly, turn them over once or twice on the oven tray so all sides are equally done. Of course, this tastes a LOT better done over coals, so if you have the option, use the BBQ grill for best results!
If there is any marinade leftover, you can add a bit of water to it and cook it over low heat until it thickens and is done, this can then be drizzled over your chicken when serving. Keep the chicken wrapped in foil until time of serving to retain heat and moisture.
For the Miniature Seekh Kababs (Mamadi/Recoda Kababs)
First, make sure that the mince is totally dry without any excess water otherwise the kababs will fall off the skewers during grilling. Grind/blend the coriander, ginger, garlic, onion and green chillies with lemon to a paste (without adding water) and add it to the mince. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly. Let it marinate for a few hours (2-3) in the refrigerator. Form small balls and skewer them on flat skewers.
Moisten hands with cold water and flatten the balls on the skewer slightly to form the miniature sheesh kababs, then grill immediately on medium heat, do not turn immediately otherwise they would keep falling into the fire. Once the bottom side is slightly done, turn the skewer and do the other side.
To keep them juicy, do not over-cook as they will get hard. Let the skewer stand for about a minute before removing the kabab as it keeps cooking a little more even after removing from the direct heat.
Serve with accompaniments of your choice and enjoy! 🙂
Assalamualaikum w.w.
I hope this email finds you in the best of health. You mentioned tomato paste and tomato puree in your recipes. I live in UK and we have tomato puree but I am unsure what you mean by tomato paste. It is chopped tomato in a tin, tomato ketchup or ???
Please advise as I wish to make use this recipe on Saturday.
JazakAllah Khair
W/Salaam, alhamdulillah am well thank you! Tomato paste is basically a more concentrated version of puree. Puree is lighter in consistency because it is just blended tomatoes, paste is when they cook the tomatoes until thick and heavy/concentrated. It is sold in most supermarkets or groceries. I remember seeing the Del Monte brand of tomato paste at the pound shops. Or if you can get White Tower tomato paste, easily available in most small stores in UK, have personally used it when I was there and results were excellent. Hope this helps! 🙂
JazakAllah khairan for your speedy response. I have seen the White Tower and Del Monte tomato paste online, I will purchase them inshaAllah.
Wishing you all the best…
Salam we thank u 4 ur wonderful contribution. Iam from nigeria, pls can u tell me wat is jeera and papaya? Jazakillahu bi khairan.
W/Salaam, jeera is cumin and papaya is the paw-paw fruit. Not sure what it is called in Nigeria but you can google for an image of how it looks.
Can we use normal pawpaw instead if raw in.mishkaki
Yes you can.
thank u.
Thank you soooo very much!! Living far away from home and missing all the smells and tastes of home,Jazaki Allah 🙂
salam fauzia.
i want the chickn little cooked before bbqd it..then hw can i marinade it..?afta cooked with salt n sm pepper n then marinade it or marinade it afta cook little? what is good?
W/Salaam, the chicken meat may get tough from being over-cooked if you cook it first before bbq-ing it. I would not recommend it dear. Why do you want to cook the chicken before bbq’ing it?
No I never made BBQ chicken before..my family friends going for a eid trip n dey ask me to make marinade n cm chicken for BBQ.dey want it it cook little befor BBQ for quickness..Dats I want to knw..
I see, have never tried cooking the chicken before bbq, not sure how the results will be. You can give it a try though, marinate first then cook and bbq.
Salam fauzia,
I made chicken BBQ marinade n cook little n again marinade n refrigerate n took it to BBQ,it’s so good n yummy,thanks a lot for ur wonderfull recipe..hopr to try more of ur recipes..
How to cook in casserole if we dont have grill:)
Bbq only tastes at its best when grilled. Won’t be the same in a casserole.
Salaam fauzia when
Salaam fauzia when marinating beef cubes do we have to wash the beef then marinade or just straight away marinade it. Because I have heard washing beef then cook it gets hard or rubbery.
W/Salaam, i always wash beef
W/Salaam, i always wash beef cubes before using them for cooking or marinating.