By Chet Sharma

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I’m always grateful that I was raised British and Indian – not one or the other, but also not half of each.

I fully embraced my English side in the sports I played, my circle of friends, the music I listened to in my teens and even the way I dressed. However, on weekends, I was still surrounded by family, knew members of the local Indian community, could speak the languages of my heritage and thankfully knew about my own culture and the history of India.

I am also grateful that I knew Indian food wasn’t just a spicy curry on a Friday night. That said, when you’re 17 and it’s a Friday night after football practice, there are few more wholesome activities than going for a mixed grill and a pint (or three) of Cobra with your team. An Indian mixed grill is invariably terrible. It’s almost impossible to cook lamb, chicken and seafood to the perfect cuisson, then put it on a raging-hot sizzler platter and send it out across a pub without getting at least one of them wrong. The only saving grace – other than those onions taking on all the meat juices – was the seekh kebab.

It’s a pretty nondescript name; seekh just means skewer. It’s typically minced mutton, sometimes chicken, and can be as simple as the Peshwari versions that contain a few herbs and cumin, or as complex as the Jawahari version that we stuff into chicken wings whenever I’m feeling particularly mean to the chefs working on the grill section in Bibi. The Hussainabad seekh is inspired by the famous Karachi street food and the small foodie neighbourhood of Hussainabad.

The key ingredient that keeps this kebab juicy is the ground almonds, which not only lends it sweet fattiness, but also swells with the meat juices as it cooks. And to bring about some of that Friday night magic, I’ve stolen a trick from Kian at Berenjak and baste the kebab and add a small herb salad with a tomato water dressing for extra umami and moisture.

For the tomato pav bhaji dressing

For the dressed herb salad

For the mutton seekh kebab

You’re aiming to make eight kebabs.

To make the tomato pav bhaji dressing

To make the dressed herb salad

To make the mutton seekh kebab

Serve each kebab along with the dressed herb salad.

To make the tomato water

Makes about 250ml

Take 1kg datterini tomatoes and 10g kosher salt. Pulse the tomatoes with the salt in a food processor, just enough to break the tomatoes (do not blend smooth, otherwise the consommé won’t be clear). Put the tomatoes in a superbag and leave to hang over a container in the refrigerator for 2 days. Set the pulp aside for another use. Simmer the tomato water until reduced by half. Chill immediately. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

BiBi, The Cookbook: Stories from my Bibi by Chet Sharma is available now, published by Phaidon