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REFRIGERATION

Food storage

How to store cooked kebabs and tandoori items

Many Indian restaurants, cloud kitchens and caterers part-cook or fully cook kebabs and tandoori items in advance, then finish them on the grill to order. Pre-cooking saves time but adds risk: if cooked meat cools slowly or is held lukewarm, bacteria that survive cooking can multiply. Cooked kebabs and tandoori items should be cooled quickly, chilled at 0 to +4 °C or frozen at −18 °C or colder, and reheated until steaming hot right through before serving. Shami and galouti kebabs, which are minced and mashed, need particular care.

  • Chilled0 to +4 °C (after rapid cooling)
  • Frozen−18 °C or colder

Do

  • After pre-cooking, spread kebabs in single layers on trays so they cool fast.
  • Chill them, covered, once steam has stopped rising.
  • Keep cooked kebabs on shelves above raw meat, never below it.
  • Freeze shami, galouti and seekh kebabs in portions, with layers separated by food-grade paper.
  • Reheat to steaming hot all the way through before serving.
  • Keep a small quantity at the grill station in an undercounter fridge, replenished from the main store.
  • Label trays with the date and time of cooking.
  • Probe-check the centre of the thickest piece when pre-cooking and again when reheating; tandoori legs and thick tikka cool and heat unevenly.

Avoid

  • Do not leave cooked kebabs on a tray next to the tandoor for the whole service.
  • Do not store cooked and raw kebabs in the same container.
  • Do not reheat cooked kebabs more than once.
  • Do not refreeze thawed cooked kebabs.
  • Do not stack hot kebab trays directly on top of each other in the fridge; trapped heat slows cooling for the whole stack.

In Indian conditions

Kebab-focused kitchens in India, from Lucknow-style outlets to cloud kitchens, often pre-cook in large batches. In hot kitchens, trays left near the tandoor sit warm for hours. An undercounter fridge or refrigerated drawer at the grill station keeps pre-cooked items cold but within reach. For weddings and events, caterers frequently cook a day ahead; plan sufficient reach-in and freezer capacity. During power cuts, check temperatures before using pre-cooked stock.

General good practice for commercial kitchens and shops. Where your FSSAI licence conditions or food-safety plan set stricter limits, follow those.