• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Mamas Secret Recipes
  • About Me
    • Food Info
  • Blog
  • Recipes
  • Videos
  • Contact Me
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • About Me
  • Blog
  • Recipes
  • Videos
  • Food Info
  • Contact Me
    • Bloglovin
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Chicken Neza Kebab

    July 28, 2017 by Fouzia Husainy Leave a Comment

    FacebookTweetPinYummlyShare
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    my neza kebabs

    I always felt chicken drumsticks looked so boring and they didn’t make me think of something interesting to cook with them, but not so anymore. So far I have made these kebabs 3 or 4 times and each time I made, they turned out delicious and were enjoyed by everyone in the family including the guests who happened to visit us. I found this recipe in the “Ashok’s book of favourite Indian recipes”. I had been eyeing on these for a long time but the thought of trimming the drumsticks made me feel lazy and I kept putting it off. At last when I finally decided to make them it actually did not take me that long.

    I did not modify the recipe much except for the fact that I rubbed lemon juice and salt prior to marinating with the gram flour masala. Also to add more flavour to it I fried the gram flour in ghee instead of just dry roasting it as given in the book. And of course I had to use a different roasting technique coz I do not have a tandoor (clay oven) at home.

    “Neza” in urdu means spear or lance and the Nawabs of Lucknow relished these kebabs which were shaped like a spear. These kebabs just melt in the mouth and so flavourful that no wonder these were one of the yummiest delicacies of the Nawabs’ kitchens. I would like to include this recipe in the lost recipes of Indian cuisine as I have not seen this delicacy prepared in any homes or even in any of the restaurants’ menus in India or elsewhere as far as I know. If anybody does, then please do share with me.

    nezakebab5

    Here’s the recipe and picture from the book:

    Ashok's book Neza recipe

    Here’s my recipe:
    Ingredients: 
    10 Chicken Drumsticks (medium size)
    5 Tbs Besan (gram flour)
    2 Tbs Ghee
    1 Tbs Ginger Garlic Paste
    1 Tsp Red Kashmiri Chilli Powder
    1/2 Tsp Turmeric
    4 Green Chillies deseeded
    1/4 Cup Cilantro
    1 Tsp Garam Masala Powder
    1 Tsp Green Cardamom Powder
    1/2 Cup Greek or hung yoghurt
    2 tbs Lemon juice

    For Basting:
    2 Tbs Olive oil
    1 Tbs Cream Cheese
    1 Tbs Whipping Cream
    1 Tbs Gouda Cheese

    neza kebab

    Instructions: 
    chicken drumsticks

    1. Peel the skin up to the end of the drumstick and slit open the flesh from the top hind end of the leg and cut around neatly with a pair of scissors to remove the tendon and ligaments as shown in the pics above.

    chicken drumsticks

    2. Now scrape the drumstick with a knife to clean and with the scissors remove the tendon with the skin sticking to it. It snips and comes off easily with the scissors.

    chicken drumsticks

    3.Trim the top end a bit and flatten the flesh with the back of a knife and pound with a kitchen hammer. Handle them gently as the flesh breaks and comes off.

    chicken drumsticks marinade

    4. Wash, drain, towel dry, then rub salt and lemon juice to the flattened/pounded drumsticks and set aside. Meanwhile prepare the marinade. Heat ghee in a small kadai or sauce pan. Add the gram flour and fry it in the melted ghee till the raw smell disappears and a nutty aroma emanates into the air.

    5. At this stage switch off the stove and add the ginger garlic paste, turmeric and Kashmiri chilli, stir quickly to mix smoothly, let it cool a bit then add the hung yoghurt, whisk well then finally add the green cardamom and garam masala powders. Adjust the salt, mix well, then rub it on the flattened chicken drumsticks one by one so that they are all smeared well with the marinade. Leave aside for up to 4 hours or over night.

    6. Add the deseeded and chopped green chillies and cilantro to the marinated chicken drumsticks just an hour before roasting them so as to retain their flavours.

    7. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees on convection roast, arrange them on a rack on a cookie sheet and place it in the centre of the oven and roast for 35 minutes. Baste them with oil from time to time. For larger drumsticks it might take a little longer. You need to turn them over to roast well on both the sides. When they are almost done baste them with the cheese mixture, leave for 2 more minutes and remove when the cheese gets absorbed and they turn golden brown. Do not over cook.

    8. Enjoy with onions, radish slices sprinkled with salt, lemon juice and chaat masala or Kachumbar salad. So yummy and delicious!

    Recipe

    neza kebab with salad

    Neza Kebabs

    Author: Fouzia
    One of the yummiest delicacies of the Nawabs' kitchens these kebabs just melt in the mouth and are so flavourful and delicious.
    Course Appetizer, Dinner, Main Course
    Cuisine indian cuisine

    Ingredients
      

    Ingredients

    • 10 chicken drumsticks medium size
    • 5 Tbs besan (channa dal flour) gram flour
    • 2 Tbs Ghee
    • 1 Tbs Ginger Garlic Paste
    • 1 Tsp red kashmiri chilli powder
    • 1/2 Tsp turmeric
    • 4 green chillies deseeded
    • 1/4 Cup cilantro
    • 1 Tsp garam masala powder
    • 1 Tsp green cardamom powder
    • 1/2 Cup greek or hung yoghurt
    • 2 tbsp Lemon juice
    • For Basting:
    • 2 tbsp olive oil
    • 1 tbsp cream cheese
    • 1 tbsp gouda cheese
    • 1 tbsp whipping cream
    Get Recipe Ingredients

    Instructions
     

    Instructions

    • Peel the skin up to the end of the drumstick and slit open the flesh from the top hind end of the leg and cut around neatly with a pair of scissors to remove the tendon and ligaments as shown in the pics above.
    • Now scrape the drumstick with a knife to clean and with the scissors remove the tendon with the skin sticking to it. It snips and comes off easily with the scissors.
    • Trim the top end a bit and flatten the flesh with the back of a knife and pound with a kitchen hammer. Handle them gently as the flesh breaks and comes off.
    • Wash, drain, towel dry, then rub salt and lemon juice to the flattened/pounded drumsticks and set aside. Meanwhile prepare the marinade. Heat ghee in a small kadai or sauce pan. Add the gram flour and fry it in the melted ghee till the raw smell disappears and a nutty aroma emanates into the air.
    • At this stage switch off the stove and add the ginger garlic paste, turmeric and kashmiri chilli, stir quickly to mix smoothly, let it cool a bit then add the hung yoghurt, whisk well then finally add the green cardamom and garam masala powders. Adjust the salt, mix well, then rub it on the flattened chicken drumsticks one by one so that they are all smeared well with the marinade. Leave aside for up to 4 hours or over night.
    • Add the deseeded and chopped green chillies and cilantro to the marinated chicken drumsticks just an hour before roasting them so as to retain their flavours.
    • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees on convection roast, arrange them on a rack on a cookie sheet and place it in the centre of the oven and roast for 35 minutes. Baste them with oil from time to time. For larger drumsticks it might take a little longer. You need to turn them over and roast well on both the sides. When they are almost done baste them with the cheese mixture, leave for 2 more minutes and remove when the cheese gets absorbed and they turn golden brown. Do not over cook.
    • Enjoy with onions, radish slices sprinkled with salt, lemon juice and chaat masala or kachumbar salad. So yummy and delicious!
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

    FacebookTweetPinYummlyShare

    Filed Under: Appetizers, Chicken, Dinner, Gluten Free, Indian Cuisine, Kebabs, Lost Recipes of India, Lunch, Non-Vegetarian, Ramadan meals, Traditional Recipes Tagged With: chicken drumstick kebabs, chicken kebabs, chicken neza kebabs, kebabs, Neza kebabs

    Subscribe

    for your weekly recipe fix.

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Hello

    Welcome to my world of cooking at Mama's Secret Recipes. My great passion for food opened the door to blogging so I could share my recipes... [Continue …]

    Recent Posts

    • How to remove the gland from the leg of Lamb
    • Coconut Shrimp Pulao Recipe
    • Vegetable egg khorma
    • Malai Masti Shahi Paneer
    • Traditional Korma Aloo Gosht

    Popular Posts

    easy haleem

    Easy Haleem (with lamb/beef)

    Thai black rice pudding

    Mango Coconut Sticky Black Rice Porridge

    shrimp biryani

    Easy Shrimp Biryani, Nawabi Style!

    chickpea mango sundal salad

    Chickpea ‘Sundal’ Salad

    cauliflower pepper fry

    Cauliflower Pepper Fry

    Persian rice

    Persian Style Saffron Rice

    FBC Member Badge

    Subscribe

    Sign up to get the latest updates from Mama's Secret Recipes.

    ARCHIVES

    Recipes

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact me

    COPYRIGHT © 2021 MAMA'S SECRET RECIPES