Chapli Burgers

Herbed Yogurt ½ cup Greek yogurt 2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro 1 teaspoon finely chopped mint 1 teaspoon minced jalapeño Sea salt Step 1 In a small bowl, stir together yogurt, cilantro, mint, jalapeño and a pinch of salt. Taste, and adjust seasoning as needed. Tamarind Ketchup ⅓ cup ketchup 4 teaspoons tamarind paste In a small bowl, stir together ketchup and tamarind paste

Agreed, no point in following a recipe on a Recipe page. Follow your mood. instead of meat use tofu. Instead of salt, try sugar. Instead of oil, use tomatoes. Instead of pomegranate seed, use chia. In the mood for ice cream? Toss some in. Is it raining out? Throw in some cocoa powder!

The recipe is delicious, but I want to point out that fresh pomegranate seeds and the dried stuff are completely different. The latter, available packaged in Indian stores as Anar Dana, is a popular souring agent - much like pomegranate syrup/molasses in Middle Eastern cooking - and the dried seeds are often powdered in a dry grinder before using. Fresh pomegranate is delicious plain, but I'd hesitate to use it as a souring agent - the water content is a little high.

I too was transformed by Chapli Kabob – at a now defunct Afghan restaurant here in Denver. Their version involved whole coriander seeds, lots of cilantro, tomatoes, sweet peppers, onions, and spices. DO NOT FOLLOW A RECIPE. Follow your mood – and whats in the fridge. Smoked paprika. Some kind of hot sauce (right now it is Trader Joe's Green Dragon sauce). Cumin. Also, grate a small to medium onion into a pound of meat and even well done burgers/kabobs remain moist.

This thread is a great example of why I usually read the article, skim the recipe and immediately dig into the comments. Almost always a great mix of insights, suggestions, and hilarity. And I agree with SLB: Dan FTW!

@Dan, I'll never be able to thank you enough for "It's a recipe, not an edict". A kitchen mantra and comeback for the rest of my days.

Thanks. I started making "spiced hamburgers" as my US born friends called them.when I arrived i the US in the mid-70s. I could never find a naan so I used a thick pita (but now we can get naan). A friend taught me also to incorporate some left over chana dal, mashed up, it acts as a binder. And a wee bit of turmeric.. One does not need to do it o an iron pan, it remains juicy if done on a grrill.

In our hands, this recipe was quite liquid, probably due to the fresh pomegranate seeds. The burgers fell apart on the grill. I scooped up what I could, put them in a frying pan, and called them sloppy chaplis.

The meat itself was insanely delicious, though I resented the crunch of the (dried) pomegranate seeds, which I couldn’t manage to pulverize, either by mortar and pestle or by food processor. Next time, I’ll add pomegranate molasses instead, as another commenter suggested. We also found the tamarind ketchup unnecessary—it went unused on our second burgers. Herbed yogurt, however, is a must.

This burger so reminds me of an astonishing burger I once had in Sierra Vista, SE Arizona: A gorgeous hamburger patty on an oversized bun topped with crumbled blue cheese and a jalapeno/raspberry jam - plus red onion, tomato, lettuce. I dream about it!

This is a Pakistani inspired reciped based on Chapli kabobs which are traditionally made with beef. Pakistan is in south asia not the middle east.

This is a perfect recipe for taking an ordinary dish in an unexpected direction. I mostly followed the recipe but, lacking pomegranate seeds, subbed in lemon zest with a squirt of honey. DEFINITELY use a hot cast iron and definitely do not crowd the patties: quick cook at high heat needed to make them nice and crispy. Yogurt sauce is a winner; ketchup/tamarind is tasty but may be out of place in this recipe. We used it to dip sweet potato fries! Chop leftovers, mix w/yogurt and wrap in naan.

I am afraid that I read this as Kafka-esque. My mind was reeling for a moment.

Juicy, delicious burgers! I used Kashmiri Chili/Pepper in place of regular red pepper flakes. As well, I used Pomegranate Powder (dried pomegranate seeds in powder form), available as "Anardana Powder" in Indo/Asian grocery stores. The tamarind ketchup and herbed yogurt are a definite must. Thanks!

While they didn't taste like "burgers," they were one of the tastiest things I've made in quite a while. I didn't make the condiments. I had fresh tzatziki from last night, which I used. And skipped the tamarind, as there were already enough flavors going on. But I loved this.