Why do my seekh kababs fall off the skewer?

The mince is too lean, too wet or not kneaded enough. Use fatty mince, squeeze the onion dry, knead until sticky and chill well before shaping.

Can I make seekh kabab with chicken or mutton mince?

Mutton mince works the same way and is very traditional. Chicken mince is softer, so add an egg and an extra tablespoon of roasted besan, and grill a little higher above the coals.

Seekh Kabab Recipe (Pakistani, Step by Step)

Name: Seekh Kabab
Prep time: 1 h 30 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 1 h 50 min
Cuisine: Pakistani
Ingredients: 1 kg Beef mince, with about 20% fat, ground twice; 1 medium onion Onions, grated and squeezed dry; 1½ tbsp Ginger-garlic paste; 6 Green chillies, very finely chopped; ½ cup Fresh coriander (hara dhania), very finely chopped; 2 tbsp Fresh mint (podina), very finely chopped; 3 tbsp Gram flour (besan), dry-roasted until nutty; 1¾ tsp Salt, adjust to taste; 1½ tsp Red chilli powder; 1 tsp Crushed red chilli (kutti lal mirch); 1 tsp Ground cumin; 1 tbsp Coriander seeds (sabut dhania), roasted and coarsely crushed; 1½ tsp Garam masala; ½ tsp Ground black pepper; 3 tbsp Desi ghee, melted, for basting

Method

Grate the onion, wrap it in a clean cloth and squeeze out every drop of juice. Dry-roast the besan in a pan on low heat until it smells nutty and turns a shade darker.
⏱ 3 min
Put the mince in a large bowl with everything except the ghee. Knead hard with your hand, slapping it against the bowl, until the mince becomes sticky and pulls away in strands.
⏱ 8 min
Cover and chill for at least an hour. Cold fat holds the kababs together on the skewer.
⏱ 60 min
Light the coals and let them burn down to glowing embers covered in white ash. Rest the skewers across two bricks or the sides of the angeethi so the meat hangs about 8 cm above the coals.
⏱ 20 min
Wet your hands. Take a ball of mince the size of a small lemon, press it around a flat skewer and squeeze it along into a long, even sausage about 2 cm thick. Pinch the ends tight.
Grill, turning the skewers every minute at first so the outside sets, then every 2 minutes, until browned all over and cooked through.
⏱ 10 min
Brush with melted ghee in the last minute. Slide the kababs off the skewers with a piece of naan and serve at once.
⏱ 1 min