Hara bhara kabab, which is nothing but green peas and paneer kabab, is a delicious vegetarian kabab packed with wholesome nutrition and it’s super easy to make!
I do not make vegetarian kababs frequently but when I make one, it has to be something really special! Same holds true with my hara bhara kabab which I am sharing here today. This green peas and paneer kabab could not have any other apt name than hara bhara kabab!
‘Hara’ which means ‘green’ and ‘bhara’ which means ‘filled’; I assume it comes from the fact that this hara bhara kabab is loaded with nutrition and of course its vibrant green color is a result of vibrantly green colored green peas!
I got attracted to this hara bhara kabab because of its tempting green color as it immediately made me hungry. This hara bhara kabab also gave me a delicious option of vegetarian kababs specially for house parties or potlucks and I definitely needed some help with that!
You already got to know that primary ingredients of the hara bhara kabab is green peas and paneer, but peas play the dominant role here. Grated paneer i.e. cottage cheese adds body to the hara bhara kabab; but the key flavor is lent by good old green peas.
The mixture of this kabab is very easy to make; only the first step may seem a little too time consuming if you are using fresh peas. You need to cook the peas in ghee on low heat until they turn soft so that you get that succulent texture in the final kabab.
I would recommend to use fresh green peas instead of frozen as I feel fresh peas are more packed with flavor; hence it’s totally worth to take that extra step in order to produce the most scrumptious hara bhara kabab for yourself and your friends & family!
Our other blog – Flavor Quotient – is full of kabab recipes but they are mostly meaty kababs. If you are a meat lover, you will see ample variety of kababs there – chicken tandoori, chicken reshmi kabab, chicken tikka, badami tangdi kabab, chargrilled chicken kabab, lamb tandoori and many more!
But I admit that I have not fared well in the zone of vegetarian kababs; this year I am trying to enrich my repertoire and this hara bhara kabab is the flag bearer. This green peas & paneer kabab has truckload of flavors and has all the potential to top the list of vegetarian kababs.
Make this hara bhara kabab for your next dinner party and I am sure you will be in the limelight instantly! This kabab is also great for fussy kids who always shy away from vegetables; you can mischievously hide any other grated veggies in this kabab which your kid will never be able to detect but will happily gorge on them!
Kababs are great for parties or even quick bites, so it’s good to have as many kabab recipes as possible to own an array of options at hand whenever you file like having one.
This hara bhara kabab is a shallow fried kabab which does not need loads of oil; the kabab mixture already has all the cooked ingredients; hence you only need to crisp up the outer part which would take about 5 minutes of shallow frying each side.
The crispy brown outer coating creates a stunning combination of colors with vibrant green of green peas and looks extremely tempting. I can assure you that there cannot be any other better use of fresh seasonal green peas than this hara bhara kabab! Make it soon!
- Green peas – 1 & ½ cups
- Paneer / cottage cheese – 100 gms, grated
- Roasted besan – 2 tbsp
- Almonds – 8 to 10, blanched
- Fresh coriander leaves – ¼ cup, chopped
- Mint leaves – 8 to 10, chopped
- Green chilies – 2 to 3 or more if you can handle more heat, finely chopped
- Ginger – 1-inch, grated
- Garam masala – ½ tsp
- Roasted cumin powder – 1 tsp
- Corn flour – 2 tbsp
- Sesame seeds – 2 tbsp
- Salt to taste
- Ghee – 2 tsp
- Vegetable oil – 4 tsp
- Heat 2 tablespoons of ghee in a small frying pan. Once the ghee is hot, add green peas and stir. Cover and cook on low heat until the peas are soft; this would take about 15 minutes. Turn off the flame and let the peas cool down.
- Add almonds, coriander & mint leaves, ginger and green chilies into a grinder and grind them to a coarse paste.
- Now add the cooked green peas to the grinder along with the coriander-mint paste and grind them until the peas are coarsely ground. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl.
- Add grated paneer, sesame seeds, roasted besan, garam masala, roasted cumin powder, corn flour and salt. Mix well to get a dough like mixture so that you can form small balls out of it.
- Grease your palms lightly with oil and divide the hara bhara kabab mixture into approximately 20 equal portions. Then shape each portion into a ball, next press them lightly between your palms to flatten and roll the kabab along its circumference on a chopping board to give the side a straight neat shape. Place the shaped kabab on a plate.
- Now take a tawa (preferably iron tawa) and heat about a teaspoon of oil (or you may use ghee for better flavor) in it. Once the oil is hot, place 4 to 5 kababs at a time and shallow fry them until they turn brown and crispy; this would take about 3 minutes each side on medium-low flame.
- Take out the fried kababs, add more oil to the tawa and repeat the shallow frying with remaining hara bhara kabab. Serve the yummy hara bhara kabab with tomato ketchup or any tangy chutney of your choice. Enjoy!
[…] 16. Hara Bhara Kabab (Green Peas Kabab / Patties) […]