Line a cheesecloth in a bowl and add 2 cups of yoghurt/curd into it. Gather the sides of the cloth into a bundle, knot at the top and hang to let the excess whey drain out, for at least 6-8 hours or overnight. Since it was cold here, I let the cloth hang over my sink; you could place it in your refrigerator too, especially if keeping overnight.
To prepare kebabs:
Finely chop ingredients 4-7 in a processor or by hand.
In a pan, heat 1 tsp oil and sauté the chopped ingredients for just a minute.
Add this to the chicken mince along with hung curd and the spices. Season with salt.
Mix well and shape into small patties. Keep aside or refrigerated till it’s time to cook.
In a flat pan, heat oil and shallow fry the kebabs till done.
To prepare pesto:
Lightly toast the pine nuts.
Put all mint pesto ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Transfer to a serving container and refrigerator until ready to use.