A complete tutorial on how to make chicken hariyali kabab in the oven, grill or in a pan without the oven (with or without skewers). Looking for easy starters for your party? Make these green chicken kababs to wow your guests. Find out the secret shortcut that can be used only with this hariyali kebab recipe.
Why You’ll Love This Kabab Recipe
Chicken hariyali kabab, also called hara bhara kabab literally means green chicken kabab.
Like all my kabab and tikka recipes, they are very easy to make. More importantly, you don’t need a grill or oven (or even skewers) to make these kebabs. They can be easily cooked either on the stove or in the oven, with or without skewers.
Now there’s nothing that is stopping you from enjoying these restaurant-style chicken kababs at home.
Whether you cook this hariyali kabab in the oven or without the oven, it takes just about 20 minutes or even less.
Similar to hariyali paneer tikka and pudina chicken legs, this chicken kebab gets its unique flavor from herbs like mint and coriander.
To go with tandoori chicken tikka, you’ll have to make green mint chutney, avocado chutney, or mango ginger chutney. That’s not the case with this hara bhara kabab recipe.
SECRET shortcut?
The green chicken kabab masala can be used as a marinade as well as chutney. With this recipe, you don’t have to take the extra effort of making the chutney 🙂
Turn this appetizer into a quick dinner with these chicken tikka paratha rolls by replacing the tikka with these kababs.
Video
Ingredients
(You can find the exact measurements and instructions in the printable recipe card at the end of this page.)
- Chicken: Use any boneless chicken pieces. I’ve used chicken breasts here.
- Mint and coriander leaves: I’ve used 1 cup of mint and ½ cup of coriander leaves. You can reduce mint and use more coriander leaves if that’s what you like. Coriander stems can also be added. They are as flavorful as the leaves. I use them often in my recipes like Thai green curry paste and tomato chilli prawn pasta.
- Garam masala: I’ve used homemade garam masala here. If you’re using a store-bought one, remember to check out the recipe tips section.
- Oil for basting: I’ve used a mix of peanut oil and melted butter/ghee. This way you limit your saturated fat intake and also get the rich buttery flavor. Win-win!
- Salt: Himalayan pink salt is more flavorful. If not available, regular salt is fine.
How To Make Hariyali Chicken Kabab: Step by step
Green Chicken Kabab Marinade
Roughly chop coriander leaves and stems, mint leaves, chillies and garlic. Place them in a blender jar along with the spices, lemon juice and yogurt.
Blend until you get a smooth paste. Reserve and refrigerate ¼ cup of the marinade to use as chutney.
Marinate The Chicken
Clean and chop the chicken into 1½ inch pieces. Add the remaining green marinade to the chicken. Add mustard oil and mix well.
Marinate in the refrigerator overnight for the best results, if possible. If you’re in a rush, marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes.
Bake Green Chicken Kababs
Thread the marinated chicken cubes onto skewers. Place the skewers on a baking pan lined with foil. Baste with the oil-ghee mixture.
Place in the oven. Roast at 230°C/ 446°F for 10 minutes. Take out the pan and baste with oil+ghee again.
Change the oven setting to “broil” and cook for 6 to 8 minutes until browned.
Serve with the reserved chutney.
How To Make Chicken Hariyali Kababs Without Oven
If you don’t have an oven, no worries. As with tandoori prawn tikka recipe, cooking the kababs in a pan is equally easy and delicious.
(I’ve made hariyali kebabs both ways and nobody could decide which one tasted better!)
Thread the marinated chicken onto skewers. Spread about ½ of the oil-ghee mixture in a grill pan or a regular one.
Place the skewers on the greased pan and cook for 5 minutes. Keep basting with the remaining oil+ghee.
Flip and baste. Cook for 4 to 5 more minutes. Done!
How To Grill Hariyali Chicken Kebabs
Shake off excess marinade and thread the chicken onto skewers. Grill for 12 to 14 minutes, basting and turning once halfway through.
Common Questions About Chicken Kababs
Can I make kebabs without skewers?
You can cook these chicken kababs without skewers both in the oven and in a pan.
Cooking in a pan: Place the chicken cubes on the greased pan. You’ll just have to ensure they are placed well apart. Cook on one side for 5 minutes while basting with oil+ghee. Flip each kabab and baste it with oil again. Cook for 5 more minutes.
Cooking in the oven: Line a sheet pan or baking pan with parchment paper. Place the marinated chicken cubes at least 1 inch apart from each other. Baste with ghee+oil and roast at 230°C/ 446°F for 8 minutes. Flip each of the kababs. Change the oven setting to broil and cook for 5 to 6 minutes until they are browned.
Should I poke holes in chicken before marinating?
If you’re cooking large cuts of chicken like baked chicken breasts or tandoori chicken legs, you have to poke holes or make cuts in the chicken so that the marinade gets absorbed better. Chicken tikka and kababs are bite-sized pieces of chicken. The marinade gets absorbed anyway. So it is not necessary to poke holes. However, if you’re using breasts, you might want to marinate them longer or tenderize them (as mentioned above).
Do you rinse marinade off chicken before cooking?
Never rinse the marinade off the chicken. The marinade, especially with yogurt, might get watery. So ensure there is no extra moisture. Everything from chicken to herbs should be blotted dry before marinating. If you’re using homemade yogurt, hang it using a tea towel until all the water drains through. Before cooking, just shake off excess marinade. That would ensure that you get perfectly browned kababs.
Do you cover marinated chicken in the fridge?
Marinated chicken should always be stored in an airtight container or ziplock bag in the fridge. Since the marinade is full of flavors, the aroma gets absorbed easily by other foods. You wouldn’t want your fruits, milk and chocolates to be smelling of the marinade.
Tips To Make The Best Green Chicken Kababs
- Tenderize: If you’re using chicken breast, and marinating the chicken for more than half an hour, the yogurt marinade is enough to tenderize the chicken. If you’re marinating only for 30 minutes, use this hack to tenderize chicken breast before marinating. That way you’ll get super soft and juicy kababs. (Totally worth the 15 to 20 minutes of soaking.)
- Blot: After cleaning and tenderizing, blot the chicken with paper towels to remove extra moisture. This will help brown the kababs.
- Garam masala: I use homemade garam masala made by roasting the whole spices individually and grinding them. Some store-bought garam masalas may have a raw flavor. In that case, add garam masala (later on) to the chicken directly (when you add mustard oil) rather than blending it with other spices.
- Flavor hack: Would you like to enhance the amazing hariyali flavors? Add a pinch of sugar to the marinade.
- Well-browned hariyali kebabs: Whatever method you use to cook, grilled, oven-roasted or pan-fried, with or without skewers ensure 2 things:
- Shake off the excess marinade before cooking.
- Place the chicken pieces well apart from each other. This will help you make well-browned tender kababs. (A similar technique I use for chicken keema kebabs.)
- Leftovers: Spread mint chutney on tortillas or parathas, and stuff with leftover chicken kababs and veggies to make roll-ups. You can also substitute chicken tikka with these kababs in tandoori chicken wraps.
More Kabab and Tandoori Recipes
Easy Chicken Mince Kebabs
Easy Tandoori Pomfret (stovetop+oven)
Easy Tandoori King Prawns (Tandoori Jhinga)
Hariyali Paneer Tikka (Oven roasted/ Pan fried)
Easy Hariyali Chicken Kabab Recipe
Ingredients
- 500 grams/1.1 pounds boneless chicken breasts or legs (Note 1)
Marinade
- 1 cup mint leaves tightly packed
- ½ cup coriander leaves tightly packed
- 3 green chillies
- 2 inch piece of ginger
- ¼ cup yogurt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt (or regular salt)
- 1 tablespoon mustard oil
For basting
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil (peanut oil/olive oil/sunflower oil)
- 1 teaspoon melted butter or ghee
Instructions
- If using the oven, preheat to 230°C/ 446°F.
Prepare the chicken
- Clean and chop the chicken into 1½ inch cubes. (note 1)500 grams/1.1 pounds boneless chicken
Make green chicken kabab masala
- Roughly chop coriander leaves and stems, mint leaves, chillies and ginger. Place them in a blender jar along with the spices, lemon juice and yogurt.1 cup mint leaves, ½ cup coriander leaves, 3 green chillies, 2 inch piece of ginger, ¼ cup yogurt, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon coriander powder, ½ teaspoon garam masala, ¼ teaspoon turmeric, ½ teaspoon ground cumin, ½ teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
- Blend until you get a smooth paste.
- Reserve and refrigerate ¼ cup of the marinade to use as chutney.
Marinate
- Add the remaining green marinade to the chicken. Add mustard oil and mix well.1 tablespoon mustard oil
- Marinate overnight for the best results, if possible. If you're in a rush, marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes.
Bake chicken hariyali kababs
- Thread the marinated chicken cubes onto skewers. Place the skewers on a baking pan lined with foil. Baste with the oil-ghee mixture.1 tablespoon cooking oil, 1 teaspoon melted butter or ghee
- Place in the oven. Roast for 10 minutes.
- Take out the pan and baste with oil+ghee again.
- Change the oven setting to “broil” and cook for 6 to 8 minutes more, until browned.
- Serve with the reserved chutney.
Using a pan to cook hariyali kababs
- Thread the marinated chicken onto skewers. Spread about ½ of the oil-ghee mixture in a grill pan or a regular one.Place the skewers on the greased pan and cook for 5 minutes. Keep basting with the remaining oil+ghee.Turn the skewers and baste. Cook for 5 to 6 more minutes.
Using a grill to cook kebabs
- Shake off excess marinade and thread the chicken onto skewers. Grill for 12 to 14 minutes, basting and turning once halfway through.
Cooking kababs without skewers
- In the oven: Line a sheet pan or baking pan with parchment paper. Place the marinated chicken cubes at least 1 inch apart from each other. Baste with ghee+oil and roast at 230°C/ 446°F for 8 minutes. Flip each of the kababs. Change the oven setting to broil and cook for 5 to 6 minutes until they are browned.
- In a pan: Place the chicken cubes on the greased pan. Ensure that they are placed well apart. Cook on one side for 5 minutes while basting with oil+ghee. Flip each kabab with tongs and baste it with oil again. Cook for 5 more minutes.
Video
Notes
- Tenderize: If you’re using chicken breast, and marinating the chicken for more than half an hour, the yogurt marinade is enough to tenderize the chicken. If you’re marinating only for 30 minutes, use this hack to tenderize chicken breast before marinating. That way you’ll get super soft and juicy kababs.
- Blot: After cleaning and tenderizing, blot the chicken with paper towels to remove extra moisture. This will help brown the kababs.
- Garam masala: I use homemade garam masala made by roasting the whole spices individually and grinding them. Some store-bought garam masalas may have a raw flavor. In that case, add garam masala (later on) to the chicken directly (when you add mustard oil) rather than blending it with other spices.
- Flavor hack: To enhance the amazing hariyali flavors, add a pinch of sugar to the marinade.
- Well-browned tender hariyali kebabs: Whatever method you use to cook, grilled, oven-roasted or pan-fried, with or without skewers ensure 3 things:
- Shake off the excess marinade before cooking.
- Place the chicken pieces well apart from each other.
- Baste all sides of the kababs with the oil-ghee mixture.
- Cooking time: The total time for this recipe does not include the time for tenderizing (20 minutes).
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