Kala Channa ke Kebab / Black Channa Kebab with Paneer

 Kala channa ke kebab is a popular north Indian kebab served as an excellent starter during any occasions. These hot kebabs are made with black channa mixed with various spices and paneer.  This is a shallow fry version and is much lighter to have.

I bet these kebabs have a melt in mouth texture and once shaped into patties and then shallow fried, these kebabs have to served hot hot with hung curd mint dip.
They are made more rich with paneer and koya . I skipped koya and proceeded with paneer alone. These spicy kebabs also teams up well with sandwiches and kathi rolls.

Kala Channa ke Kebab Recipe - Ingredients:
Preparation time: 15 mins | Cooking time: 10 mins | Recipe cuisine: Indian | Recipe category: Starter

Black channa(kondakadalai) - 1 cup soaked overnight
Paneer  - 1/2 cup crumbled
Onions - 1 (finely chopped)
Green chili - 1 chopped
Amjur powder(dry mango) - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil for shallow frying
Water as needed.

To saute with channa:
Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Ginger - 1 tsp chopped
Garlic  - 1 tsp chopped
Hing - a pinch
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Red chili powder  - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder -  1/2 tsp
Chat masala  -  1/2 tsp
Channa masala  - 1 tsp

For the dip:
*Hung curd  - 1/2 cup
Green chili   - 1 finely chopped
Mint leaves - 1/4 cup finely chopped
Salt as needed
Red chili powder - a pinch.

Method:
1. Soak the channa overnight and pressure cook it for 4-5 whistles until cooked thoroughly. Drain the water and keep aside.  Heat a pan with little oil. Splutter jeer and add the ginger garlic, hing, coriander, red chili, turmeric, chat and channa masala powder's and saute for a min or two.

 

2.Add the boiled black channa and salt and stir until it get coated well with all masala's. Allow it to cool and the grind it coarsely, not too smooth. If required add a little water.

 

3.To the grounded mixture add crumbled paneer, chopped onions, green chili, amjur powder and knead to dough. Check and adjust salt accordingly at this stage.

 

4.Start shaping into small round patties or kebab's.

 

5.Shallow fry the kebabs in pan with little oil until it turns crisp and browned both sides.

Serve with hung curd chutney or mint-yogurt chutney normally served with tandoori recipes.
For the dip:
Mix the hung curd, mint leaves, green chili, and required salt and beat well. Garnish with little red chili sprinkled.

Note:

• *For the hung curd - take 1 cup of yogurt (if using store bought use 3/4th cup) in  muslin cloth and hang it on a sink tap or spatula for the excess water to drain. Keep untouched for 1 hour. You will get a thick curd after an hour.
• You can also add 2 tbsp crumbled koya which makes it more rich.
• Adding paneer gives a soft and melt in mouth texture.
• If not able to shape patties you can add 2 tbsp of corn flour to the mixture and start shaping.