Name: Chicken Sekuwa
Ingredients: 2 lbs. Chicken breasts, skinned, boned, and cut into 1-in. cubes. (Can be substituted with large shrimps); Melted butter for bastin; Bamboo skewers (pre-soaked for at least 30 min. in cold water; Marinade:; 2 cup Nepali yogurt; 1 tablespoons lemon juice; 2 tablespoons musturd oil; 1 cup onions, roughly choppe; 1 tablespoon cumin seed; 1 teaspoon coriander seed; 1/2 teaspoon turmeri; 3 fresh red chilie; 1 teaspoon pepper cor; 1 teaspoon timu; 2 cloves garli; 1 in. ginger; 1 tablespoon fresh dill weed, choppe; 1 cup celery, choppe; 1 tablespoon soy sauc; Salt to tast; 1/4 cup green onions, cut in 1-in. length

Why it works: Cumin and coriander match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,866 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Cumin + coriandertop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,866 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Lemon + coriandertop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,498 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Onion + cumintop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,498 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Lemon + cumintop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,477 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Chicken + oniontop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,814 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Chicken breasts: Provides the main protein, which firms up and cooks through over the grill.
Nepali yogurt: Its acidity gently tenderizes the chicken while the marinade clings to the cubes.
Onions: Add sweetness and moisture, and brown well on the grill's surface.
Lemon juice: Adds acidity that brightens the marinade and helps tenderize the meat.
Melted butter: Adds fat and richness, and helps the surface brown as it is basted during grilling.
Soy sauce: Adds salty, savoury depth and helps the surface brown during grilling.

The step that matters

Do not overcrowd the pieces. Crowded skewers trap steam instead of letting the surface sear, so the chicken turns pale and steamed rather than browned.

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, shrimp, butter, yogurt, onion, cumin, coriander):

Avocadofits better
Limefits better
Coconutfits better
Lemonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, shrimp, butter, yogurt, onion, cumin, coriander. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Yogurt	170g plain Greek	100
Shrimp	100g cooked	99
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Cumin	1 tsp ground (2.1g)	8
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Dill	5 sprigs fresh (1g) / 1 tsp dried	4
Ginger	1 tsp grated fresh (2g)	2
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Water	not in our table	0
Seed	not in our table	0
Coriander	not in our table	0

Chicken Sekuwa

Chicken Sekuwa

Ingredients

Directions

Marinate

Grill

Serve

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)