Why do my chapli kababs break while frying?

The mixture is too wet or the fat is not hot enough. Squeeze the vegetables, chill the mixture, and only flip once the underside has formed a firm crust.

What gives chapli kabab its flavour?

Crushed roasted coriander seeds, anardana and chilli flakes, plus frying in beef fat. Leaving any of them out makes it taste like an ordinary shami or burger patty.

Peshawari Chapli Kabab Recipe (Pakistani, Step by Step)

Name: Peshawari Chapli Kabab
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 1 h 25 min
Cuisine: Pakistani
Ingredients: 1 kg Beef mince, coarsely ground once, with about 25% fat; 2 medium onions Onions, finely chopped and squeezed; 2 medium tomatoes Tomatoes, 1 finely chopped and drained, 1 sliced into rounds; 6 Green chillies, finely chopped; 2 inch pieces Ginger, finely chopped; ½ cup Fresh coriander (hara dhania), chopped; 2 Eggs; 3 tbsp Maize flour (makki ka atta); 1¾ tsp Salt, adjust to taste; 2 tbsp Coriander seeds (sabut dhania), dry-roasted and coarsely crushed; 1½ tbsp Dried pomegranate seeds (anardana), coarsely crushed; 1½ tbsp Crushed red chilli (kutti lal mirch); 1 tsp Cumin seeds (zeera), roasted and crushed; 1 tsp Ground black pepper; ¾ cup Vegetable ghee (banaspati), or beef fat (charbi) or ghee, for shallow frying

Method

Dry-roast the coriander seeds and cumin in a pan for a minute until fragrant, then crush them coarsely with the anardana in a mortar.
⏱ 2 min
Squeeze the chopped onion and the chopped tomato in a cloth to remove excess water.
In a large bowl, mix the mince with the onion, chopped tomato, green chillies, ginger, coriander, eggs, maize flour, salt, crushed spices, chilli flakes and black pepper. Mix well with your hand but do not knead it smooth; the texture should stay rough.
Cover and chill for 30 minutes so the mixture firms up.
⏱ 30 min
Heat the fat in a wide, heavy frying pan or flat tawa on medium-high heat until very hot, about 1 cm deep.
⏱ 4 min
Wet your hands, take a ball of mince the size of an orange and pat it out into a thin, wide round about 1 cm thick. Press a slice of tomato into the centre.
Slide the kababs into the hot fat tomato side up, two or three at a time. Fry without moving until the underside is dark brown and crisp, then flip and fry the other side.
⏱ 7 min
Drain on a rack and serve hot. Spoon a little of the hot fat over them if serving at once, as they do in Peshawar.