Persian Kebabs (Kabob Koobideh)
Persian Kebabs (Kabob Koobideh) have to be of the most iconic (and delicious) Persian dishes. Fatty lamb mince, lots of onion, wrapped around a skewer and cooked gently on a charcoal barbecue until juicy and succulent.
Served with the traditional accompaniments of buttery saffron rice, grilled tomatoes, chillies, onions, yoghurt, and fresh herbs (sabzi khordan). And it wouldn't be Kabob Koobideh if it wasn't sprinkled generously with one of a Persian's most-loved spices - sumac!
What is Kabob Koobideh?
The word 'koobideh' actually refers to the method of handling the meat. It translates roughly as 'pounded' or 'smashed'. That's because kneading or pounding the meat by hand is a crucial step in making Persian Kebabs (Kabob Koobideh).
When you combine your lamb mince with onions, salt, pepper, and bicarbonate soda, it is anon-negotiable step that you knead the mixture for at least 10-15 minutes. When you do this, the proteins in the meat form stronger bonds and bind together. This is what helps the skewers keep their shape and not fall apart!
Why the indents in the meat, you ask? It's not only for the mesmerising visual impact (just look at those skewers!). It's for a very practical reason! Because rice comprises much of a Persian's DNA, the typical knife and fork combo is not all that common. It's far more typical to be served food with a fork and spoon, to easily scoop up the delicious rice.
The idea is that for these Persian Kebabs (Kabob Koobideh), the indents make the meat so thin at each segment, that you could easily cut it with a spoon! That's why the indents are so frequent too, since you want them to be bite-sized! This way, you grab a bite (loghmeh) of meat, rice, and any other accompaniments on the same spoon. Efficient kebab eating techniques - who knew they were necessary!
Making Persian Kebabs (Kabob Koobideh)
When Persians do barbecues, Kabob Koobideh is often the star of the show. I have such fond memories of my dad standing over a huge bowl of meat, skewering the kebabs meticulously and with love!
Making Kabob Koobideh really is a labour of love. Family and friends all gather around, spending time together and skewering meat while the charcoal barbecue gently burns in the background. Food truly does bring people together!
Making Persian Kebabs (Kabob Koobideh) is all about five key things. The first is the meat. You can do a 50/50 split of beef and lamb mince, but I always opt for 100% lamb mince. It is more traditional, and much fattier, resulting in a more juicy, delicious kebab.
Second is the onion. I use brown or white onions (never red onions) for Kabob Koobideh. But more importantly, you want a lot of onion (the perfect ratio is 1 large onion for every 500g or pound of meat). And (this is so important!), you need to squeeze the juice out of the onions before mixing with the meat. Too much liquid in the mixture and nothing will stick together. You will end up with a soppy wet pile of onion-flavoured lamb. Not good!
Third is the kneading of the meat. Like I said above, you must not skip this step. Persian grandmothers all over the world will chase you with a wooden spoon if you simply mix your ingredients and start skewering. Pretend like you are kneading bread! Get in there and knead that mixture around, for at least 10-15 minutes, until you have a sticky, homogenous mixture. Like so!
Fourth are the seasonings. For a Persian dish, Kabob Koobideh is uncharacteristically simple in the spice department. Just salt and pepper for this one! As my mum always reminds me, you want your Kabob Koobideh to be a smidge on the saltier side - and you want to be able to taste the pepper! I also add bicarbonate soda (1 teaspoon per kilogram of meat is the perfect ratio!). This tenderises the meat, and gives it an incredibly juicy, soft, light and airy texture. This addition is the best-kept secret to restaurant-style Kabob Koobideh!
The fifth and final key is the basting process. I always keep the reserved onion juice, and in a separate dish melt some butter and saffron. Taking turns basting the Kabob Koobideh with these as they grill on the charcoals keeps the meat juicy, adds more flavour, fragrance, and out-of-this-world deliciousness!
Serving Your Persian Kebabs (Kabob Koobideh)
The most traditional way to serve up your Kabob Koobideh is to construct a huge platter that will make you feel like royalty! A traditional platter includes buttery saffron rice, and the typical grilled vegetables that are cooked alongside the meat. These include grilled tomatoes, onions, and chillies.
Also serve with a dollop of yoghurt, some simple Shirazi salad, and the all-important sabzi khordan. This translates to 'herbs for eating', and typically includes fresh mint, parsley, coriander, basil, radishes, radish leaves, and spring onions. Persians eat sabzi khordan with many meals (wrapped with feta cheese and walnuts in flatbread (naan-e lavash) for a traditional breakfast, with any grilled meat, or stew with rice).
When taking off the grill, line a pot with a piece of Lebanese bread or traditional Persian flatbread (naan-e lavash). Use another piece of bread to pull the meat off the skewers, and cover to keep warm. The bread at the bottom of the pot soaks up all the delicious koobideh juices, and is my husband's favourite part.
And, finally, there is no Kabob Koobideh without sumac. Sumac is a hugely popular Persian spice. It is the dried, powdered form of the sumac berry. It's fruity, lemony, sour, and goes perfectly with the fatty, juicy skewers of Kabob Koobideh. A typical drink alongside this dish is doogh - a delicious, fizzy, yoghurt drink that sometimes has dried mint. It's similar in taste to Ayran! And since you've got the charcoals fired up for this recipe, try my Persian-style chicken wings with saffron, lemon, and yoghurt. A truly spectacular Persian barbecue feast!
I truly hope you love this recipe as much as my family, friends and I do! xxx
An iconic Persian dish, these Persian Kebabs (Kabob Koobideh) will make you feel like royalty! Juicy lamb skewers, traditionally served with buttery saffron rice, grilled tomatoes, onions, and chillies, with yoghurt and fresh herbs. Simply delicious!
- 3.5 kg lamb mince (See Note 1 - the fattier the better. Do not get lean mince!)
- 7 large onions (brown or white)
- 10 tsp salt
- 5 tsp black pepper
- 3.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
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Peel and grate your onions, or blitz in a food processor until very fine. Strain the liquid from the onions into a bowl - reserve the onion juice. Try to squeeze as much juice as you can out of the onions.
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Combine your lamb mince, onion, salt, pepper, and bicarbonate soda in a large bowl. With your hands, knead the mixture for at least 10-15 minutes, until the proteins bind and you have a sticky, homogenous mixture. Place in fridge overnight for the flavours to infuse (optional).
Skewering the Kabob Koobideh- 3
For the amount in this recipe, grab about 24-26 wide, flat skewers. Have the koobideh mixture in front of you, as well as the bowl of reserved onion juice (or regular water).
- 4
Grab a small-medium handful of the koobideh mixture and begin wrapping around the skewer. At any point, if your hands are too sticky, dip them in a bit of the onion juice or water (but not too much! See Note 2).
- 5
Flatten the meat so that the koobideh is just wider than your skewer, and about 2-3cm (1 inch) thick. The length will depend on the size of your charcoal barbecue (See Note 3). With your middle finger and thumb, press into the koobideh to create indents in the meat every 2-3cm (1 inch). Flatten the top and bottom of the koobideh into the skewer to seal the meat. Continue this process until all the meat has been skewered.
Cooking the Kabob Koobideh- 6
For basting the koobideh: In a bowl, place a few ice cubes with a few threads of saffron (ground in a mortar and pestle) on top. Let the ice cubes melt and bring out the flavour and colour of the saffron (see Note 4). Melt a few tablespoons of butter and add to your bloomed saffron.
- 7
Meanwhile, heat up your charcoal barbecue, and let the coals catch. Wait for the coals to simmer down to a gentle burn. You want to be able to keep your hand near the coals for 1-2 seconds, and there will be a layer of ash forming on top (depending on what charcoal you use - I recommend wood charcoal). If you are grilling vegetables, chicken wings, or other meats, cook these first (on the metal grill plate) while the coals are very hot, and cook the koobideh last.
- 8
When the coals are ready, place your koobideh skewers on the open coals (do not use a grill plate for koobideh! See Note 5).
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After 15-20 seconds, turn each of the skewers over, and begin basting with your butter and saffron mixture.- 10
After another 15-20 seconds, turn the skewers again and baste with the rest of the reserved onion juice. Continue taking turns basting with the butter and saffron, and onion juice, turning the koobideh every 45-60 seconds (see Note 6).
- 11
Depending on how hot your coals are, the koobideh should be cooked in 15-20 minutes. Line a pot with a piece of Lebanese bread, or traditional Persian flatbread (naan-e lavash). Use another piece of bread to pull the meat off the skewer into the pot, and place the bread on top of the skewers to keep everything warm while the rest of the koobideh cooks.
- 12
Serve with traditional Persian accompaniments like buttery saffron rice, grilled tomatoes, onions, and chillies, simple Shirazi salad, some yogurt, and fresh herbs (sabzi khordan). Top the koobideh with sumac, and enjoy!
Note- In Iran, sometimes extra bits of lamb fat are added into the lamb mince for Kabob Koobideh. This helps keep the meat juicy and succulent, and imparts a beautiful flavour. The fat content also helps the mixture bind together when you are kneading it, so do not buy lean mince for this!
- Only wet your hands slightly when skewering the koobideh. If your hands are too wet, all that liquid will make its way into the koobideh and it may start to fall apart. A few drops on your hands will do. Don't undo all that work kneading the mixture to help bind the proteins together!
- Before you start skewering the koobideh, place an empty skewer on your charcoal barbecue. This gives you an idea of how long each individual skewer of meat can be. My tip for when you are initially wrapping the meat around the skewer is to make it a few centimetres shorter than you can fit. That's because when you make the indents, the meat will naturally be pushed up a bit. So leave some space for this!
- Some people use hot water to bloom their saffron, some use cold water. I do what my mum taught me, and that's to gently let it bloom over some melting ice cubes! Having done it various ways, I feel the ice cubes preserve the bright colour, and delicate flavour of the saffron.
- If you use a grill plate while cooking your Kabob Koobideh, your meat will probably stick to the metal grill and fall apart. You'll see that traditional Persian koobideh doesn't have grill marks anyway - a sign of lessons learnt!
- The reason you want to turn the koobideh so regularly is because you want it to cook slowly and evenly on both sides. If you leave one side to cook fully, and then flip the koobideh, the raw meat on the other side will fall off into the coals.
Persian, kebabs, kabob, koobideh, lamb, skewers, traditionalThank you for supporting NurtureNosh - I hope you love this recipe!
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