Kebab-meets-burger? Hell yes! Try our Vegan Peshwari Chapli Kebab Burgers for your next grill-a-thon!
Chapli kebabs are spiced ground meat patties originating in Peshawar, Pakistan. They are a popular street food in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and India, and they bring the flavor! Traditionally, chapli kebabs are pan-fried and not grilled, but we couldn’t resist grilling them up as burger patties for a recent camping trip.
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🇵🇰 WHAT ARE CHAPLI KEBABS?
Chapli kebabs are the result of Mughal (pronounced “moo-guhl”) culinary influence in India. The Mughal Empire controlled the Indian subcontinent from the 16th through 19th centuries. Persian cultural influence was introduced to the Indian subcontinent through the Muslim rulers of the Mughal Empire. The resulting Mughlai (pronounced “moog-lai”) cuisine is a delicious mishmash of culinary traditions from the Indian subcontinent, Iran, and Central Asia. Persian culinary influence contributed ingredients like saffron, cardamom, nuts, and dried fruit–and of course–kebabs, the crown jewel of Persian cuisine. So how did Persian-inspired kebabs find their way to Pakistan?
Well, Pakistan was part of India until the 1947. The 1947 Partition of the Indian subcontinent under the British resulted in the independent majority-Muslim country of Pakistan and the majority-Hindu country of India. Mughlai cuisine made the most enduring impression on the food cultures of Pakistan and Northern India (which borders Pakistan). Thus, kebabs of all manner remain popular in the region. Pakistani dishes tend to be more meat-centric compared to Indian dishes, owing to the continued Islamic impact in Pakistan.
In sum: The Persianized Mughuls brought their kebabs to the medieval Indian subcontinent, resulting in bomb-ass kebab dishes like chapli kebabs. Got it? Good.
🍔 WHAT ARE CHAPLI KEBAB BURGERS?
We veganized and adapted the chapli kebab recipe by Rookie with a Cookie by using plant-based ground “meat.” Chapli kebabs are typically served with naan bread or between hamburger buns. We decided to grill them up to make hamburgers for a recent camping trip. We topped our chapli kebab burgers with vegan yogurt raita (a cooling yogurt sauce), cilantro, red onion, and pomegranate arils.
📝INGREDIENTS
- Vegan ground “meat”
- Spices: coriander seeds, cumin, red chile powder
- Pomegranate arils
- Herbs & vegetables: cilantro, tomato, onion
- Salt
- Ginger-garlic paste
- Just Egg
- Corn flour
- Neutral-flavored oil
- Burger buns
- Toppings: red onion, cilantro, pomegranate arils, and vegan yogurt raita (i.e. plain vegan yogurt, mint, cilantro, jalapeno pepper, and water blended together)
💡STEPS AND TIPS
- Easy Peasy: All you need to do is combine the chapli kebab ingredients in a mixing bowl and then let the mixture marinate in the fridge for at least an hour. We recommend marinating overnight for best results. Meanwhile, blend all the ingredients for the yogurt raita and refrigerate. Then divide the “meat” mixture into four patties, grill, assemble your burgers, and top with the topppings!
- Pan-fried vs. Grilled: As we mentioned previously, chapli kebabs are traditionally pan-fried, but we grilled them up as burgers for our camping trip.
- Eliminate Moisture From the Onions: Since we’ve had issues with vegan ground “meat” holding its shaped form, we eliminated the water content from the tomato and onions in our recipe. Basically, we removed the seeds from the tomato. We also grated the onion, placed the grated onion in a dish towel, and then squeezed as much water out as we could.
- Make Your Own Ginger-Garlic Paste, If Needed: Lastly, you can buy ginger-garlic paste at an Indian or international grocery store. But if you can’t find it, simply blend together one teaspoon each of ginger and garlic.
We hope you enjoy our flavor-packed and spicy Pakistani twist on a burger!
–Val & Mani
🎉 DID YOU MAKE OUR VEGAN CHAPLI KEBAB BURGERS?
Did you make this recipe? We’d love to hear about it! Please comment and leave a 5-star🌟 rating below. Share your dish with us on Instagram and tag us @plantbased.passport. We would love to seeing your delicious creations! Still hungry? Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Pinterest for more global vegan recipes and travel tips!🍴✈️
💕 More Vegan Sandwich Recipes:
👩🏽🍳 RECIPE
Vegan Chapli Kebab Burgers
Ingredients
For the Burger Patties:
- 1 lb plant-based ground “meat”
- 2 teaspoon coriander seeds crushed
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 2 tablespoon pomegranate arils crushed
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chile powder or substitute cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste or substitute 1 teaspoon ginger & 1 teaspoon garlic blended together
- ¼ cup cilantro leaves finely chopped
- 1 vegan egg scrambled and allowed to cool completely (We used Eat Just egg; if you don’t have access to Just Egg, you can omit this step)
- 1 tomato finely chopped and seeds removed
- ½ medium onion grated and water squeezed out in a dish towel
- 2 tablespoon cornstarh
- Neutral-flavored oil for brushing (we used avocado oil)
- 4 burger buns
- Red onion thinly sliced
- Cilantro to garnish
- Pomegranate arils to garnish
For the Vegan Yogurt Raita:
- 1 cup plain unsweetened non-dairy yogurt or sour cream (We used Tofutti sour cream)
- 3 tablespoon mint
- 3 tablespoon cilantro
- 1 Thai chile pepper or substitute 1 medium jalapeño pepper
- 2 tablespoon water
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Combine ingredients #1 through #12 in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Allow the mixture to marinate in the refrigerator for at least one hour, or even overnight for best results.
- Meanwhile, make the yogurt raita: Blend the Thai chile, mint, and cilantro with the non-dairy yogurt. Add 1-2 tablespoon of water if you prefer a thinner consistency. Season with salt, to taste, and refrigerate.
- Divide plant-based ground “meat” mixture equally into four balls. Flatten into burger patties and make an indentation in each patty with your thumb to prevent the burgers from swelling.
- Brush each patty with oil and grill to desired level of doneness. Then lightly toast the burger patties over the grill (optional).
- Assemble your burgers: Place patties in buns and top with raita, sliced onions, cilantro, and pomegranate arils. Enjoy!
The flavors in this are OUTSTANDING.
Pakistani food is LEGIT. These grilled up to perfection.