Seekh kebab is usually the main event - grilled, plated, maybe a chutney on the side, done. Respectable. Classic. But what if you took perfectly good frozen seekh kebabs and threw them into a spicy, tangy, saucy curry with dried plums and cherry tomatoes?
That is what happened here. Not because I planned it that way, but because I had kebabs in the freezer, plums in the cupboard, and a lightbulb moment that made me think ketchup and BBQ sauce can make kebab gravy again! :D.
The result: a thick, clingy, sweet-sour-spicy curry that wraps around every bite-sized kebab piece and refuses to let go.
Not traditional.
Not apologising 🤙.
Just honest home cooking 👨🍳 💪
Unfortunately, no video this time. So, as usual, photos and a dry description.
Very-very premium laziness 🤘.
🤌🏽 Ingredients: #
- Olive oil (mustard oil or sunflower oil also work)
- Onion 🧅 - cut in large chunks
- Garlic 🧄 - sliced and crushed
- Frozen chicken seekh kebabs - 1 kg
- Dried plums (prunes) - about 7–8 per kg of kebab
- Cherry tomatoes 🍅
- Kebab masala - half a pack per kg of kebab
- Green chillies 🌶️
- Tomato ketchup
- BBQ sauce
🤌🏽 Preparation: #
First, the onions. I cut them into large, chunky pieces - not thin slices, not diced. Big, confident cuts that hold their shape in the curry and give you something to bite into later.
Then the garlic. I sliced them first, then crushed the slices with the flat of the knife to break the cell walls and bring out the flavour. A generous amount - this curry is not shy.
The star: frozen chicken charcoal seekh kebabs. Spicy, hand-formed, with green chilli and a 12-spice garam masala blend. Straight from the freezer into the air fryer until fully cooked.
And the secret agent of this dish - dried plums (prunes). Pitted, no added sugar. They melt into the curry and add a deep, sweet-sour undertone that makes the whole thing feel more complex than it has any right to be.
Once the kebabs came out of the air fryer, I cut each seekh into three pieces at an angle. The diagonal cut exposes more surface area, which means the masala gravy gets inside the kebab properly - not just sitting on the outside.
🤌🏽 Cooking: #
In a pot, I heated some olive oil and tossed in the onion chunks and crushed garlic. Medium heat, patient stirring, until they turned yellowish and soft.
Then I poured in the kebab masala - about half a pack for 1 kg of kebab. Fried the masala with the onion until the raw smell disappeared and everything looked properly coated and fragrant. Poured in some water, lowered the heat a little, and covered the pot.
While the pot was doing its thing under the lid, I used the gap to prep the air fryer side of things. I halved the cherry tomatoes, halved the dried plums, cut the rest of the onion into chunks, and tossed in some green chillies. Sprayed some oil over them and air fried everything at 100°C for about 15 minutes.
Back to the pot. I opened the lid, poured in tomato ketchup and BBQ sauce, and stirred it all in. Kept stirring until the mix looked properly cooked - glossy, thick, and clinging to the spoon.
Then the kebab pieces went in. I mixed them well into the masala, making sure every piece got properly coated.
When the mix started looking dry, I poured in some more water and dropped in a few green chillies, then covered the lid again and let it simmer.
Once the curry looked cooked through, I tipped in the air-fried cherry tomato and plum mix. The roasted tomatoes burst into the gravy, and the softened plums started dissolving into the sauce, adding that sweet-sour depth.
I reduced the water fully - though that is a matter of preference. Some people like it with a bit of gravy; I went dry this time, letting everything thicken and coat the kebab pieces.
🤌🏽 Final Result: #
The result was sticky, spicy, tangy, and deeply savoury - with the dried plums adding an unexpected sweetness that played off the heat of the chillies and the smokiness of the BBQ sauce. Every kebab piece was glazed in a thick, dark masala that made you want to lick the spoon.
The cherry tomatoes gave it brightness, the crushed garlic gave it punch, and the diagonal-cut kebab pieces soaked up the gravy from the inside out. Ketchup and BBQ sauce sound unconventional, but they do exactly what they are supposed to - bind the sweetness and the acid into something that just works.
Serve it with rice, naan, or just eat it straight from the bowl with a fork. Nobody is judging.
That’s the one! ☝️ 1️⃣ 🥇