A Mughlai tandoor kebab made from chicken drumettes or drumsticks ('kalmi' refers to the wing-joint cut) marinated in hung yogurt, cream, cardamom, and white pepper, then roasted on the tandoor's vertical rods until the bone handle chars. The built-in bone makes it the Mughal kitchen's answer to finger-food grilling.
Also known as: kalmi kebab, kalmi kabab, murgh kalmi kebab, chicken kalmi kebab, qalmi kebab
Watch it made
Ingredients
- 12 chicken drumettes or 8 small drumsticks (about 1 kg)
- 150 g hung yogurt
- 60 ml cream
- 2 tbsp cashew paste
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 0.5 tsp ground green cardamom
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 30 g butter, for basting
How to make it
- 1
Slash each drumette twice to the bone and rub with lemon and salt for 15 minutes.
- 2
Blend the hung yogurt, cream, cashew paste, ginger-garlic, white pepper and cardamom into a rich coat and bury the chicken in it 6 hours.
- 3
Thread onto skewers or stand on a rack and roast at 230 C for 20 minutes, turning once.
- 4
Baste with butter and give 5 more minutes until the tips catch bronze but the cashew coat stays creamy.
- 5
Finish with a squeeze of lemon and serve with sliced onion and mint chutney.
Pro tip: The double slash to the bone is what lets a thick marinade penetrate a bone-in cut — skip it and the kebab is seasoned only skin-deep.
