A Bangladeshi wedding and iftar staple: a soft minced-beef patty dipped in beaten egg that fries into a lacy net ('jali' means mesh) around the meat. The delicate egg web is the identifying feature.
Also known as: jali kabab, jaali kebab, Bangladeshi jali kabab, জালি কাবাব
Watch it made
Ingredients
- 500 g finely minced beef
- 60 g fried onions, crushed
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 green chilli, minced
- 1 slice white bread, soaked and squeezed
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 eggs, beaten thin with 15 ml water
- oil, for shallow frying (about 2 cm deep)
How to make it
- 1
Knead the beef with onion, ginger-garlic, bread, chilli, garam masala and salt, and shape flat ovals; chill 30 min.
- 2
Bring the oil to 170 C over medium heat.
- 3
Dip a patty in the beaten egg and lower it in slowly, letting streams of egg trail off your fingers around it; those threads fry into the lace.
- 4
Drizzle another spoonful of egg over the top, then flip once and fry 3 min per side to amber.
- 5
Drain on paper and serve hot as an iftar plate with rice or salad.
Pro tip: Beat the egg loose and thin, with a spoonful of water; thick egg coats the patty like batter and you get a jacket instead of a jali net.
The story of Jali Kebab
Jali means mesh or net, and the Bangladeshi jali kebab is named for its most visible feature: a soft minced-beef patty dipped in beaten egg that fries into a lacy web around the meat. It is a wedding and iftar staple across Bangladesh and among Bangladeshi communities abroad.
It belongs to the Mughal-descended kebab culture that Dhaka preserved, and it is the celebratory member of that family — more decorative and more labour-intensive than the everyday shik kabab of the city's lanes. The net is not functional; it is display, and Bangladeshi cooks are judged on how fine and even they can get it.
The technique that defines it
The net is created by drizzling beaten egg into hot oil in a circular motion around the patty, so it sets in threads rather than as a sheet. The oil must be hot enough to set the egg on contact but not so hot that it browns instantly, and the drizzle must be thin and continuous — a poured stream gives you an omelette rather than a net.
Underneath, the patty is a shami-style mixture: beef minced with lentils or bread, spices and onion, cooked and ground smooth, then shaped and chilled. It is already cooked, so the frying is entirely about the egg and about warming through. That means the oil temperature can be managed for the net rather than for the meat.
Choosing your ingredients
Beef mince, cooked with onion, ginger, garlic and Bengali spicing — cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cardamom, and often a little mustard — then ground fine. A binder of soaked bread, gram flour or boiled lentil. Eggs, beaten and strained through a sieve so there are no lumps to break the net.
A wide shallow pan and enough oil to come partway up the patty. Straining the beaten egg is the detail most recipes omit and the one that makes the difference between a clean lace and a ragged one.
Mistakes that ruin it
Pouring the egg rather than drizzling
A stream gives a solid sheet. Drizzle it thin and continuous, moving in circles around the patty.
Unstrained egg
Lumps of unbeaten white break the net. Strain the beaten egg through a sieve first.
Oil too hot
The egg browns before the net forms. Hot enough to set on contact, no hotter.
Warm patties
Chill them before frying so they hold their shape while the net is being built around them.
How it is served
With a sharp salad of onion, cucumber and green chilli, and a tamarind or mint chutney. It appears at iftar tables through Ramadan and at wedding feasts, and it is served whole so the net is visible. Naan or paratha alongside.
Questions about Jali Kebab
What is the net made of?
Beaten egg, drizzled thin and continuous into hot oil around the patty so it sets in threads rather than as a sheet.
Why does my net come out solid?
You poured rather than drizzled, or the egg was not strained. Strain it and drizzle in a thin continuous stream.
Is the meat cooked before frying?
Yes. The patty is a shami-style mixture, already cooked and ground. The frying is about the egg net and warming through.
When is jali kebab eaten?
At weddings and at iftar during Ramadan. It is a celebratory dish rather than everyday street food.
