{{Short description|Pashtun-style minced kebab eaten throughout South Asia}} {{Infobox food | name = Chapli kabab | image = Chapli Kebab.jpg | image_size = 250px | caption = Lamb chapli kabab served at a Balti restaurant in Birmingham, UK | country = Peshawar, Pakistan<ref name=cts/><ref name="Burhanpurwala2025"/><ref name=nb /> | national_cuisine = South Asian cuisine | course = Appetiser, main course, or side dish | type = Kebab | main_ingredient = Minced beef, mutton, or chicken | minor_ingredient = Various herbs and spices | similar_dish = Burgers }} '''Chapli kabab'''{{Efn|Pashto: چپلي کباب, Hindi: चपली कबाब, Urdu and Hindko: {{nq|چپلی کباب}}, {{langx|prs|چپلی کباب}}}} is a minced kebab made from ground beef, mutton or chicken with various spices in the shape of a patty. The chapli kabab originated from the city of Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan and is today found across South Asia.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What Makes Chapli Kebab A Meat Lover's Dream Come True? |url=https://www.slurrp.com/article/what-makes-chapli-kebab-a-meat-lovers-dream-come-true-exclusive-recipe-inside-1640264999893 |access-date=26 April 2023 |website=Slurrp |language=en |quote=The Chapli Kabab is said to have its origins in Peshawar, Pakistan. |archive-date=26 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230426194510/https://www.slurrp.com/article/what-makes-chapli-kebab-a-meat-lovers-dream-come-true-exclusive-recipe-inside-1640264999893 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="cts">{{Cite book |last1=Taylor Sen |first1=Colleen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YbKvEAAAQBAJ&dq=chapli+kebab+origin+peshawar&pg=PA196 |title=The Bloomsbury Handbook of Indian Cuisine |last2=Bhattacharyya |first2=Sourish |last3=Saberi |first3=Helen |date=2023 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-1-350-12863-7 |pages=196 |language=en |quote=Another fried kebab is chapli kebab that may have originated in Peshawar. The name comes either from Pushto chalpleet, meaning 'flat', or from chappal, Hindi for sandal, alluding to its shape. |access-date=19 June 2023 |archive-date=15 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230715094435/https://books.google.com/books?id=YbKvEAAAQBAJ&dq=chapli+kebab+origin+peshawar&pg=PA196 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="nb">{{Cite web |last=Bailey |first=Natasha |date=18 January 2023 |title=What Makes Pakistan's Chapli Kababs Different From Others? |url=https://www.tastingtable.com/1170963/what-makes-pakistans-chapli-kababs-different-from-others/ |access-date=26 April 2023 |website=Tasting Table |language=en-US |quote=The Chapli kabab is one of Pakistan's most beloved dishes. This particular kabab was reportedly first created in Peshawar, in the northwestern corner of the country. |archive-date=26 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230426194510/https://www.tastingtable.com/1170963/what-makes-pakistans-chapli-kababs-different-from-others/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=8 March 2015 |title=Eating Chapli Kababs in Northern Pakistan |url=https://thelocalist.com/pakistan/eating-chapli-kababs-in-northern-pakistan/ |access-date=26 April 2023 |website=The Localist |language=en-US |quote=In Pakistan, chapli kabab originally comes from the northern areas, in particular Peshawer, capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of pakistan. |archive-date=17 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160517170431/http://thelocalist.com/pakistan/eating-chapli-kababs-in-northern-pakistan/ |url-status=live }}</ref> It is strongly associated with Pashtun cuisine.
Chapli kabab is served in kebab shops in Pakistan, Afghanistan and India.<ref name="Burhanpurwala2025">{{cite web |last1=Burhanpurwala |first1=Alifiya |title=7 Best Chapli Kebabs In Mumbai That Kebab Lovers Must Try |url=https://curlytales.com/best-chapli-kebabs-in-mumbai-that-kebab-lovers-must-try/ |publisher= |access-date=1 December 2025 |date=3 June 2025|website=Curly Tales}}</ref><ref name="NDTV">{{cite web|url=http://food.ndtv.com/recipe-peshawari-chappali-kebab-171627|title=Peshawari Chappali Kebab|work=NDTV Food|access-date=25 July 2016|first=Divya|last=Burman|archive-date=8 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211008074849/https://food.ndtv.com/recipe-peshawari-chappali-kebab-171627|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Dawn">{{cite news |last=Shinwari |first=Sher Alam |date=13 October 2013 |title=On the menu: Krazy about (Chapli) kebab |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1049405 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160813090940/http://www.dawn.com/news/1049405 |archive-date=13 August 2016 |access-date=25 July 2016 |work=Dawn}}</ref> Such eateries have rapidly expanded in other cities as well. Today, the chapli kebab is featured on the menu of Afghan, Indian and Pakistani restaurants across the world.<ref name="Dawn" /><ref name="NDTV2017">{{cite web|url=https://food.ndtv.com/food-drinks/chapli-kebab-1771609|title=Chapli Kebab: The Flat Minced Meat Marvel Is An Explosion of Flavours You Must Not Miss|date=27 October 2017|access-date=26 February 2020|archive-date=26 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200226014228/https://food.ndtv.com/food-drinks/chapli-kebab-1771609|url-status=live|website=NDTV Food}}</ref> Chapli kababs can be served and eaten hot with naan or as a bun kebab.<ref name="Tirmizi">{{Cite web |last=Khan |first=Palwasha |date=23 January 2021 |title=Eating Chapli Kababs in Northern Pakistan |url=https://thelocalist.com/pakistan/eating-chapli-kababs-in-northern-pakistan/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160517170431/http://thelocalist.com:80/pakistan/eating-chapli-kababs-in-northern-pakistan/ |archive-date=17 May 2016 |access-date=8 April 2021 |website=The Localist}}</ref>
== Etymology ==
The name ''chapli'' may be derived from the Pashto word ''chaprikh/chapdikh/chapleet'', meaning "flat" – alluding to the kebab's light, round and flattened texture.<ref name="Tirmizi"/> Alternatively, the name may be derived from ''chappal'', the Urdu/Hindi word for sandals – relating the average shape and size of a kebab to that of a chappal sole.<ref name="cts" /><ref>{{cite book|title=Culture Shock!: Pakistan|first1=Karin|last1=Mittmann|first2=Zafar|last2=Ihsan|publisher=Graphic Arts Center Publishing Company|date=1991|isbn=9781558680593|page=[https://archive.org/details/cultureshock00mitt/page/104 104]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/cultureshock00mitt/page/104}}</ref>
The tradition of eating grilled meat, skewered on sticks, has existed in the Indian subcontinent since at least the Indus Valley Civilization. The 12th-century Sanskrit text ''Manasollasa'' documents a recipe which is similar to the one used to prepare the chapli kebab.<ref name="Sanghvi2024">{{cite web |last1=Sanghvi |first1=Vir |title=The Taste by Vir Sanghvi: From tandoori chicken to kebabs; the evolution of Indian cuisine |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/opinion/the-taste-by-vir-sanghvi-from-tandoori-chicken-to-kebabs-the-evolution-of-indian-cuisine-101721726079620.html |publisher= |access-date=25 November 2025 |date=23 July 2024|quote=As the food historians Colleen Taylor Sen writes in her Feasts and Fasts: a History of Food in India, the grilling of meat “directly on a fire, skewered on sticks was common in ancient Mesopotamia and in the Indus Valley Civilisation.” This tradition continued to exist in India through the centuries; the Manasollasa, a 12th century text, has recipes for what we would call kababs those days. It is wrong to believe, says Sen, “that elaborate meat dishes appeared only with the arrival of the Muslims. Early texts even have recipes that are very similar to today’s chapli or seekh kababs.”|website=Hindustan Times}}</ref>
== Ingredients and preparation ==
The chapli kebab is prepared with raw, marinated mince and the meat can be either beef or lamb/mutton. The main ingredients include wheat flour, various herbs and spices such as chili powder, coriander leaves, followed by smaller quantities of onions, tomatoes, eggs, ginger, coriander or cumin seeds, green chillies, corn starch, salt and pepper, baking powder and citric juice, like that of lime or lemon.<ref name="NDTV">{{cite web|url=http://food.ndtv.com/recipe-peshawari-chappali-kebab-171627|title=Peshawari Chappali Kebab|work=NDTV Food|access-date=25 July 2016|first=Divya|last=Burman|archive-date=8 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211008074849/https://food.ndtv.com/recipe-peshawari-chappali-kebab-171627|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Tirmizi"/>
The kebabs can be fried shallow or deep in vegetable cooking oil over medium heat. The traditional chapli kebab is prepared by frying the kebabs in lamb fat or cow fat over wood-fired stoves to lend an organic flavour. This approach is avoided by some gastronomists, citing health-conscious reasons.<ref name="Malik">{{cite news|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1196602|title=Khyber's most delicious export|work=Dawn|first=Shiza|last=Malik|date=27 July 2015|access-date=25 July 2016|archive-date=13 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160813095643/http://www.dawn.com/news/1196602|url-status=live}}</ref>
== Serving ==
Once cooked, chapli kebabs can be served and garnished with parsley, chopped onions and tomatoes, along with other accompaniments such as various chutney sauces, salad, yoghurt, pickles or nuts.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2Bj8sTJClD92JQf38fg201B/beef-chapli-kebab-with-pomegranate-chutney|title=Beef chapli kebab with pomegranate chutney|work=BBC Radio 4|first=Sumayya|last=Usmani|access-date=25 July 2016|archive-date=10 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160410024950/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2Bj8sTJClD92JQf38fg201B/beef-chapli-kebab-with-pomegranate-chutney|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fgWrCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA102|title=The Multicultural Cookbook for Students|first1=Lois Sinaiko|last1=Webb|first2=Lindsay Grace|last2=Roten|page=102|publisher=ABC-CLIO|date=2009|isbn=9780313375590}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://images.dawn.com/news/1175050|title=Weekend grub: Could these chapli kebabs from Peshawar be the best in Pakistan?|work=Dawn|first=Bilal|last=Agha|date=25 March 2016|access-date=25 July 2016|archive-date=13 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160813085221/http://images.dawn.com/news/1175050|url-status=live}}</ref> The chapli kebab is best served aromatic, moist and spicy.<ref name="Dupree">{{cite book|title=Afghanistan|first=Louis|last=Dupree|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=9781400858910|date=2014|page=231}}</ref> It is considered a specialty of Pashtun cuisine and often served to guests.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/337139/comfort-food-keeping-warm-with-kebabs/|title=Comfort food: Keeping warm with kebabs|first=Fazal|last=Khaliq|work=The Express Tribune|date=16 February 2012|access-date=25 July 2016|archive-date=19 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160719095207/http://tribune.com.pk/story/337139/comfort-food-keeping-warm-with-kebabs/|url-status=live}}</ref> The kebab is commonly consumed in meals with bread such as naan, rice dishes such as Kabuli pulao, or wrapped in fast food.<ref name="Dawn"/> In winters, green tea such as kahwah may traditionally be served alongside it, while cold drinks are preferred in the summers.<ref name="Dawn"/>
== See also ==
== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group=lower-alpha}} <!--footnotes "a" -->
== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}
{{Street food}} {{Pakistani dishes}} {{Indian Dishes}} Category:Pashtun cuisine Category:Hors d'oeuvres Category:Beef dishes Category:Food watchlist articles Category:Goat dishes Category:Ground meat Category:Kebabs Category:Lamb and mutton dishes Category:Indian meat dishes Category:Pakistani fast food Category:Pakistani meat dishes Category:Street food in Pakistan