Low-Carb Chicken Seekh Kebabs

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These kabobs are juicy and delicious — the perfect excuse to fire up the grill!

Chicken Seekh Kebab (chicken koobideh) is a popular Persian recipe that is made with minced chicken flavored with warming spices. You can make them in the oven, on the stove or even on the grill. Apart from spices used in the recipe, the kebabs can be sprinkled with sumac which is a spice you can find at most Middle Eastern markets.

You can serve them with any salads, roasted veggies, with cauliflower rice or even low-carb naan bread.

Tips and Substitutions

Instead of an oven, you can barbecue these kebabs. To do that, prepare your charcoal or gas grill, place the skewers on the grill, turning them every few minutes until each kabab is fully cooked and crisped up.

You can also use a cast iron pan. To do that, shape them before adding to the pan (as shown below). Alternatively, spread the chicken mixture in the pan using a spatula or just your hands, and then cut the mixture into strips. Heat the pan over a medium heat and cover with a lid. When it starts to release its juice, uncover and let the juice evaporate and the meat crisp up. Flip the kebabs using a spatula and cook for a few more minutes.

This meal uses ground chicken which is naturally low in fat and high in protein. Contrary to some beliefs, it is perfectly suitable for a healthy keto diet.

But Isn't Keto a High-Fat Diet?

One of the misconceptions about keto eating is that you have to eat tons of fat, and/or that unless you are not eating at least 75% of calories from fat, you are not truly "keto". In fact, a well formulated ketogenic diet is restricted in carbs, provides adequate protein intake, and fat is eaten to satiety which is easily achieved on a low-carb diet.

This means that you should not force yourself to eat more fat only to "meet your macros". Fat on a keto diet acts as filler and too much dietary fat won't let you use your own body fat stores and use them for energy.

Nutritional values (per serving, 2 kebabs)

Ingredients (makes 6 servings)

• 2 lbs ground chicken, preferably thigh meat (900 g)
• 1 large yellow onion, grated (150 g/ 5.3 oz)
• ¹/₄ cup roughly chopped cilantro
• 2 small cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• ¹/₃ tsp turmeric
• ¹/₈ tsp paprika
• 1 ¹/₂ tsp sea salt
• 1 ¹/₂ tsp ground black pepper
• Optional: 1-2 tsp chopped chillies
• Optional: ¹/₂ tsp dried saffron or ¹/₄ tsp saffron powder
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice (30 ml)
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or melted ghee (30 ml)
• Optional: sumac, lime wedges, chopped chilies, and fresh cilantro to serve

Instructions

1. Peel and grate or finely chop the onion.
   
2. Place the onion in a sieve and use a spoon to press and drain the juices, or use a cheesecloth and squeeze to drain completely.
   
   
3. In a large mixing bowl combine ground chicken, grated onion, chopped cilantro, garlic, turmeric, saffron, salt, black pepper, and paprika. Optionally add chopped chillies (if you like heat) and saffron. Mix well using your hands.
   
   
4. Cover with a plastic wrap and let mixture sit in the fridge for at least an hour or ideally overnight.
   
5. When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 190 °C/ 375 °F (conventional), or 170 °C/ 340 °F (fan assisted).
6. Keep a bowl filled with cold water next to you on the kitchen counter. Take a handful of the chicken mixture, press it around the skewer, dipping your hands in the water to avoid sticking, and shaping the meat into a long kebabs (about 3 oz/ 85 g each).
   
7. In a small bowl, mix the olive oil with fresh lime juice.
8. Place the kebabs on a lined baking tray, brush with the lime & olive oil mixture and and bake for 12 minutes. Remove the baking tray from the oven, flip the skewers on the other side, brush with more lime & olive oil mixture, and bake for another 5-6 minutes.
   
9. Place the kababs on a platter, squeeze a bit of lime juice over them, and optionally sprinkle with sumac. Serve with cauliflower rice or low-carb naan.
10. To store, let the kebabs cool down and refrigerate for up to 4 days. Reheat before serving.

Ingredient nutritional breakdown (per serving, 2 kebabs)

Net carbs	Protein	Fat	Calories
Chicken, minced (ground), dark meat, thighs
0 g	29 g	6.2 g	179 kcal
Onion, brown (yellow), raw
1.6 g	0.2 g	0 g	9 kcal
Coriander (cilantro), fresh
0 g	0.1 g	0 g	1 kcal
Garlic, fresh
0.3 g	0.1 g	0 g	1 kcal
Salt, sea salt
0 g	0 g	0 g	0 kcal
Cumin, ground
0.1 g	0.1 g	0.1 g	1 kcal
Turmeric, spices (dried, ground)
0.1 g	0 g	0 g	1 kcal
Pepper, black, spices
0.2 g	0.1 g	0 g	1 kcal
Paprika, spices
0 g	0 g	0 g	0 kcal
Lime juice, fresh
0.3 g	0 g	0 g	1 kcal
Olive oil, extra virgin
0 g	0 g	4.5 g	40 kcal
Total per serving, 2 kebabs
2.7 g	29.4 g	10.8 g	234 kcal

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