This is a recipe for the best MELT in your Mouth beef Handi kababs that are NOT made on skewers, but instead in a pot! 4 easy steps for this perfection to wow everyone around you. Made in a Pakistani-style marinade, this is a no-fuss, easy-to-follow recipe, tested to make a foolproof recipe!
If you like one-pot no-fuss recipes like this, try my one-pot spicy noodles and, of course, the one-pot khara masala keema!
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What are handi kababs?
Handi kababs are the gravy version of their BBQ counterpart, known as “Bihari boti” or “Bihari kababs”, popular in Pakistan and North India. They originate from Bihar and are also known as “Handi Kabab Masala” or “Handi Dum Kabab” in certain areas. The marinade, beef cut, and spices are very similar to Bihari kebabs, with one plot twist. These kababs are made in a pot rather than on a skewer and have very little gravy or “masala” in them, so they resemble a dry curry. It’s also easier and less tedious than threading kababs on a skewer! Win Win! Let’s dive right in.
Ingredients
Here are a couple of pointers and notes about the ingredients.
This recipe uses common ingredients regularly used in Indian/Pakistani cooking
- Spices seasoning – There aren’t fancy spices involved, and most of them are pantry staples. For the rare garam masala powder, you can use allspice powder as a substitute.
- Garlic ginger paste – You can make your own by using a food processor, or buy ready-to-use garlic ginger paste.
- Yogurt – This recipe heavily relies on yogurt to provide a mild tart flavor that these kebabs have
- Oil – I’ve used regular cooking oil; you can use ghee or butter, too.
- Fried onions – Fried onions add mild sweetness to the flavor and add bulk to the dry “curry” that is going to be created. You can use pre-fried brown onions available in Indian stores or fry them yourself. Here’s a guide to frying onions perfectly.
- Beef Cut – If you have access to an Indian/Pakistani meat store, you can easily ask for undercut beef cut into small cubes or boneless beef. You can also get a steak and cut it up. So, topside, sirloin steak, eye fillet, or tenderloin should work just fine.
- Coal – I use a piece of small charcoal to give this dish a smoky flavor that it deserves! You can also use 1/2 tsp of liquid smoke available in bottles, which is a “smoke essence”.
- Raw Papaya paste – Raw papaya paste is a strong natural meat tenderizer (more deets below)
Raw Papaya Paste
Raw papaya paste is a strong natural meat tenderizer that gives meat its melt-in-mouth texture synonymous with Bihari boti and Bihari kebabs. You can buy raw papaya paste in jars available in Asian stores or Indian/Pakistani stores, or make your own.
To make your own papaya paste, wash the raw papaya and cut it into small pieces. Only remove the seeds from the core and leave the skin intact. Put it in a blender with some water to get a paste! And that’s it. You can freeze papaya paste as well.
Raw Papaya Substitutes
- Meat tenderizer – About 2 tsp only. Remember, meat tenderizer has a taste of its own, and overdoing it can give your kababs a funky taste.
- Kiwi – You can use kiwi paste to get the same effect as raw papaya. Just add a tablespoon of vinegar to counter the sweetness of the kiwi.
- Pineapple paste – Fresh pineapple contains an enzyme that is a strong meat tenderizer. It’s half as strong as papaya paste. But pineapple has a strong, sweet taste of its own, so I won’t suggest using a lot of pineapple paste. Just increase the marination time to 2 days with pineapple paste rather than using a lot of quantity.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities
How to make Beef Handi Kabab
You will see that the preparation time for this recipe is hardly 15 to 20 minutes and the bulk of it is just passive cooking time.
Step 1: In a bowl, add beef chunks and all the marinade ingredients.
Step 2: Marinate the beef well and cover it. Let it marinate overnight in the fridge.
NOTE: Take out beef 1 hr before you are ready to cook to allow it to come down to room temperature.
Step 3: Put the beef in a deep pot and cover with a lid. Let it slow-cook at low heat for 30 to 40 minutes.
Step 4: Allow all the liquid to evaporate and oil to separate on the sides. Sauté the beef for 2 minutes and turn off the heat.
Smoking the kebabs
I give coal smoke to the beef to give it that authentic BBQ feel. You can give the smoke at 2 possible stages.
#1 – You can smoke it after your overnight marination, while your kebabs are still raw.
#2 – You can smoke it after your kebabs are ready and after you’ve turned off the flame.
- Heat a piece of coal on the stove and use a tong to transfer it into your kebabs. Place it on top of an aluminum cupcake liner, aluminum foil, or a piece of bread. And drizzle some oil over it. Cover your pot immediately and let it sit in the smoke for 10 minutes. Viola!
- For liquid smoke, add it towards the end of your cooking. Be careful! It’s extremely strong, so use around 1/4th tsp at first to see if you want more.
Garnish the kababs with lemon slices and sliced onions. These kababs are best with parathas and green chutney on the side. If you are feeling fancy, you can also add a complimentary potato fry (aloo bhujia) on the side. They also taste ammmmmazing with dal chawal (steamed rice and lentils). You can also use these handi kababs to make wraps and rolls.
Expert Tips
- Leaving the beef on the countertop for an hour before cooking activates the papaya paste and creates the melt-in-your-mouth beef texture.
- Use beef chunks of approximately similar size to allow them to be softened equally.
- Never skip smoking the kababs if you want that restaurant taste and aroma.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use any heavy-bottomed pan or a Dutch oven for this recipe. If you don’t have both, just use a heat insulator below your regular pot. A heat insulator can be a “tava”, a flat pan, or a griddle.
Absolutely! For mutton, you will follow the same steps as mentioned in the recipe. For chicken, reduce the quantity of papaya by half and only marinate 1 to 2 hrs before cooking, not overnight.
You can freeze the kababs only if you haven’t added papaya. Once papaya is added, it’s best to cook kababs before freezing. If your freezer temperature doesn’t fluctuate much, your kababs can easily stay frozen for up to 3 months
Oh, so many things! You can make desi-style paratha rolls with kebabs, onions, and chutney. You can shred it and use it in sandwiches. You can also use them as a filling for samosas or puffs.
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Do you have any questions? I’m happy to help! And of course, If you try this recipe, I’d loveeeee to see it or simply hear about it! Hit me up in the comment section below and I’ll get back to asap! Happy Cooking!
Handi kebab
Ingredients
- 1 kg boneless beef cut in 1/2 inch cubes see notes
- 1 tbsp. garlic ginger paste
- 3 tbsp. lemon juice
- 1/4 cup oil
- 220 gm onion raw or 70 gm golden fried about 2 medium onions
- 1 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
- 2 tsp red chili powder
- 1 1/2 tbsp roasted and crushed cumin seeds
- 1 1/2 tsp garam masala powder all spice
- 1/2 cup papaya paste
- 1 cup yogurt beaten
Other
- 1 inch piece coal for smoke
- Lemon slices and onion slices for garnish
Instructions
- Add the beef in a bowl and add all the spices and ingredients in the beef.
- Marinade the beef well with all the ingredients and cover the bowl. Leave in the fridge overnight.
- When you are ready to cook the beef, remove it from the fridge and let it sit in the kitchen for about 2 hours before starting cooking.
- You can also smoke the beef at this point by adding a foil cupcake case in the beef, and adding hot coal in the foil. Drop a tablespoon of oil and cover the beef for 10 mins.
- Remove the coal setup and transfer the beef into a pot or a handi. Let it cook at very low flame for 30 to 40 mins.
- When you see oil separating on the sides of the pot, its ready.
- Serve with raita and paratha, or rice and lentils.
Rabia says
Made this today for the fam and it blew their mind!
Wajiha says
wohooo!!!
Laeba Sajid Faraz says
Do we need to use raw papaya?
Wajiha says
raw papaya changes the texture of the meat to create this melt in your mouth feel. you can also use meat tenderizer instead if you like. If you dont want to use anything, thats fine too. Just know that your meat texture will remain as normal meat
Mobasir hassan says
Truly appreciate the way you made this delicious kebab. Everything is so nicely described that really helped me. Looking forward for more such yummy recipes in future too.
Wajiha says
Omg thankyou so much for dropping this comment here!
Aslam says
looking yummy thanks for sharing keep posing.
Big fan says
Going to try this today with Qurbani meat! So excited!!! Thank you!
Wajiha says
alreadyyyyyyy happpppy for you!