Bhopal's answer to the gola kebab: ultra-tender minced buffalo or mutton wound onto skewers with cotton string ('sutli') that is snipped away before serving. It is judged by whether it collapses at the touch of a piece of bread.
Also known as suta kebab, bhopali sutli kebab, सुतली कबाब.
Reference video
Ingredients
- 500 g buffalo or mutton mince, triple-ground
- 40 g raw papaya paste
- 50 g fried onion paste
- 20 g roasted chana (gram) powder
- 1 tsp Bhopali garam masala, heavy on black cardamom
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 40 g ghee
- 1.25 tsp salt
- cotton string (sutli)
- green chutney and sliced onion, to serve
How to make it
- 1
Whip the mince with every ingredient except ghee and string until it drops lazily off a spoon, then chill 2 h.
- 2
Press a thin coat of the mixture along skewers with wet palms.
- 3
Wind cotton string snugly around each kebab from end to end, like reinforcing a fishing rod.
- 4
Roast over low coals 10-12 min, painting with ghee at each turn.
- 5
Let the skewers settle 30 seconds off the fire, then slide the string off and let the kebab collapse gently onto the plate beside chutney and onions.
Pro tip: The Bhopal doneness test: pulled off its string, the kebab should slump like custard; if it stands up proudly, it was overbound and you have lost the melt.
Where Sutli Kebab comes from
Bhopal has a distinct kebab culture rooted in the city's Begums and its Afghan-descended nobility, and sutli kebab is its signature. Chatori Gali, the city's food lane, is where it is eaten, and the shops there make it in quantity from early evening until late.
How Sutli Kebab is cooked
The string is wound along the length of the skewer once the meat is pressed on, in a tight spiral from end to end, which gives a slightly ridged surface once the string is removed. The winding must be tight but not so tight that it cuts through the soft mixture.
The mince is worked to a fine paste with fat and papaya, and Bhopali spicing leans on a warm garam masala with a noticeable presence of black cardamom. Grilling is over gentle coals with constant attention, and the skewers are turned slowly. The string is snipped and unwound at the moment of serving, which is done at the shop counter in front of the customer.
Ingredients and shopping
Buffalo mince is traditional in Bhopal; mutton is the alternative. Ground at least twice, with around 25 percent fat. Raw papaya in small quantity for an hour or two. Fried onion paste for body.
Food-safe cotton string, thicker than sewing thread so it does not cut into the meat. Thick skewers. The Bhopali spice profile includes mace, nutmeg, black cardamom and white pepper alongside the usual cumin and coriander.
How Sutli Kebab is served
With sheermal or a soft roti, mint chutney, onion and lemon, in the manner of Chatori Gali — served hot, in small portions, eaten standing. The unwinding of the string at the counter is part of the experience and shops do it deliberately in view.
Common mistakes
String wound too tight
It cuts into a very soft mixture and the kebab falls apart when unwound. Firm but not cutting.
Thin thread
Fine sewing thread slices through the meat. Use a thicker cotton string.
Unwinding while very hot
Let it settle for thirty seconds off the fire. Straight off the coals the mixture is at its most fragile.
Too much papaya
The mixture becomes unmanageable. Small quantity, short marinade.
Sutli Kebab: questions and answers
What does sutli mean?
Cotton string. The kebab is wound with it to hold the very soft mince onto the skewer, and it is snipped off before serving.
How is it different from gola kebab?
They are close cousins, and both are bound to the skewer with cotton thread. Sutli is Bhopal's version, traditionally made with buffalo and spiced with a garam masala heavy on black cardamom.
Why does my sutli kebab fall apart when I unwind it?
The string was too tight or too thin and cut into the meat, or it was unwound straight off the fire. Let it settle briefly first.
Sources and further reading
- Mouthful of kebabs — The Tribune (India)
