Dahi Kabab | Dahi Ke Kabab

Make better than restaurant Dahi kabab that are crisp on the outside and soft, with a melt-in-the-mouth inside. When I say better than restaurant you know what I mean, these are extremely delicious, unique tasting with a punch of flavors from the herbs and garam masala. I am sure once you make these, you won’t go back to the traditional restaurant dahi kabab anymore. Serve these with a side of Coriander chutney, Mint chutney or Green chutney.

Dahi Kabab

Dahi kabab translates to yogurt kababs where “Dahi” is a Hindi word for “Curd” (Indian yogurt) and “Kabab” here means a “Patty”. Also known as Dahi ke kabab, these are vegetarian patties made with curd as the primary ingredient. Various ingredients like spices, herbs & gram flour are used to flavor them.

You will find numerous ways to make dahi kabab. Bread crumbs, onions, nuts, paneer and even cheese can be tasted in some versions.

In India, all kababs are not meat based and this version of vegetarian dahi kabab are more common in the North Indian restaurants. These are not a very common Snack or appetizer made in the households except for occasions.

Traditionally these are made with strained Curd (Dahi) also known as Hung curd in Indian cuisine. Since the texture of the hung curd is too moist even after straining, it is necessary to use an ingredient that can soak up the moisture. So gram flour or dried bread crumbs (not fresh) are used.

To flavor the mixture, onions, garam masala, ginger, garlic, green chilies and coriander leaves are used. Chopped nuts like cashews and almonds add some texture when you bite into the kababs. Without nuts your dahi kababs will not have any texture as it is made mostly with smooth curd.

The mixture is shaped to patties and pan fried, shallow fried or deep fried as per convenience. Yes in Indian restaurants, some kind of kababs are also deep fried.

My Recipe

My tried and test recipe will help you make the best dahi kabab that are super crisp on the outside, soft inside and the aroma of gram flour is unbeatable. You won’t feel that you are eating bland chunks of cooked yogurt & gram flour.

The key ingredient in my recipe is the crumbled Paneer which balances the tang in yogurt and adds a wonderful texture to your dahi kabab.

To make the recipe easier use store bought Greek yogurt or toned yogurt and store bought paneer. This step will help you make these under 30 minutes.

These dahi kabab are best shallow fried, baked or air fried. Though you can pan fry them, they won’t have the same crusty exterior like the other versions.

For more kabab recipes, you can check
Hara bhara kabab
Veg seekh kabab
Shami kabab
Chicken kabab
Reshmi kabab

Photo Guide

How to Make Dahi Kabab (Stepwise Photos)

Preparation

1. Place a sieve over a bowl and line it with a muslin cloth.

2. Pour 2 cups of fresh curd to the cloth. Bring together the edges and gently wring to drain up excess whey.

3. Leave it on the sieve.

4. Place a heavy bowl or a couple of bowls over the curd pack. This helps to remove the excess whey completely. Refrigerate for 12 to 14 hours (everything together – bowl, seive, curd along with the weight).

5. Hung curd will be ready. Make sure it has no more whey in it.

6. Add that to a mixing bowl. Also add in crumbled paneer, ginger paste, garam masala and salt.

7. Next add onions, cashews, coriander leaves and green chilies. Since we do not use red chili powder here add enough green chilies .

8. Add bread crumbs. I used about half cup.

Shape Dahi Kabab

9. Bring everything together and make a ball. Make sure you do not knead it at all. Otherwise moisture from onions begin to release. Make sure salt, chilli spice and garam masala is good enough. Otherwise you can add them now.

10. The mixture has to be non sticky. As you can see in the picture the mixture did not stick up to my fingers even though I did not grease my fingers. Otherwise dahi kabab will soak up oil. If the mixture is sticky, then use more bread crumbs. Make equal sized balls.

11. Next flatten and then join the cracks if any.

12. Finally roll all of these in besan. Shake off the excess flour. This prevents the oil turning messy. Set aside for 5 to 7 mins.

13. These can be grilled on a grill pan or in a preheated oven. They can also be shallow fried. Heat the oil on a medium flame. Drop the dahi kababs one after the other and fry on a medium heat.

14. Lastly flip. Then fry until golden and crisp on both the sides. Drain to a absorbent tissue.

Serve dahi kabab hot with mint chutney.

Pro Tips

Dahi: The key to making the best dahi ke kabab is to use fresh curd that is not sour tasting. If dahi has even a slight sour flavor it will ruin the entire dish.

Also using paneer and hung curd that has no dripping whey is very important. This helps to prevent the kababs from soaking up lot of oil.

Paneer adds a texture to the kababs so do not skip it. Otherwise the kababs will taste like curd and flour dough.

To make dahi kabab I have used homemade paneer and dahi or curd. You can also use store bought ones for convenience. I made the paneer the previous night and hung it to get rid of the whey completely.

Similarly I made the hung curd the previous night and refrigerated both of them. Do use a good flavorful garam masala otherwise the kababs will taste bland.

Related Recipes

Recipe Card

Dahi kabab recipe first published in May 2017. Updated and republished in May 2022.