Raw papaya kebab/kabab is a simple and delicious kabab made with raw papaya and beaten rice. Most people are not aware of the usage of raw papaya though they consume the ripe ones. In fact, raw papaya is more popular as a meat tenderizer 😀 .
Raw papaya is cooked into curries, and stirfries which are common in Indian cuisine. I even came across parathas and pickles with raw papaya. In Southeast Asia, it is mostly made into salads.
But in whatever way, it’s cooked it is nutritious and is considered healthier than the fruit itself. It contains two potent natural enzymes papain and chymopapain and a good amount of dietary fiber.
It also helps to treat abnormal digestion, heartburn, constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, and intestinal worms. You can read more about it here.
Coming back to this recipe, mom uses raw papaya a lot. I neither liked nor hated it so simply consumed whatever she used to prepare.
Sometime back when I happened to visit my dear friend Geetha’s farm I saw a tree full of raw organic papayas and was so tempted that I got a few from her.
Back home I was determined to make something that everyone would consume, coz kids will not consume the regular stuff. Finally ended up making this raw papaya kebab/kabab.
Served it with the simple tomato ketchup and it was gone in minutes. This is my own version of a vegetarian kebab/kabab 🙂 .
So if you have not been using raw papaya start using it in your everyday cooking mainly for its health benefits. It oozes out some milk when cut, but does not taste bitter.
And if you are accustomed to raw papaya, do give this a try. It can be served as a starter or as a teatime snack.
Here in Qatar, you can find it in most shops selling Indian or Srilankan veggies. I usually buy them from FFC or Lulu.
Over to the recipe…
Raw papaya kebab/kabab
Ingredients
- ½ cup hard aval/poha/beaten rice
- 1½ cup grated raw papaya
- 1 medium-sized big onion
- 1 green chilly
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- ½ tsp chilly powder
- ½ tsp garam masala powder
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- juice of half a lemon
- few coriander leaves
- salt as needed
- water as needed
- oil as needed to deep fry
Instructions
- Peel, remove the seeds, wash and grate 1½ cups from a medium-sized papaya.
- Wash and soak the aval or poha in immersing level water for 30 minutes. Chop the onion chilly and coriander leaves.
- After half an hour, roughly mash the aval. In a vessel take the veggies and the aval. Add all the powders, cumin seeds, and lemon juice.
- Mix everything well, check for salt and form small cylindrical-shaped kababs out of it.
- Heat up oil in a pan and deep fry the kebabs a few at a time. Drain onto a paper towel.
- Serve as an appetizer or snack with tomato ketchup or any chutney of your choice.
Hema’s P.S
- Spices and chilies can be added according to personal preference.
- Sprinkle a bit of water if you need to while mixing up the kebab mix. I did not need though.
- It can be air fried or shallow-fried on the stovetop too. I preferred to deep-fry as deep-fried stuff is generally spaced in our house 🙂 .
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Will definitely try this one. Looks unique and yummy
Do try and let me know how it turned out for you Raji😊