Chicken Koobideh Kabob

I’ve been to a few local Iranian restaurants in my life, watched the one episode of No Reservations where Anthony Bourdain visits Tehran – (much to his surprise finds it a beautiful country with a lot of life and hospitality), and perused a few Persian cook-books when visiting the library. So, therefore, I’m an expert.

I’m kidding, guys.

While my experience with Iranian cuisine is pretty limited, I know for a fact that this country indeed has a rich culinary history that ought to be celebrated and appreciated in the mainstream.

Koobideh kabobs are made from ground meat, shaped on long metal skewers, and cooked over a wood-fire grill.

These kabobs are juicy. And they give you the perfect excuse to fire up the grill! If it’s winter do not panic, you can still make these on your indoor grill and they’ll still be tasty!

For the kabobs I use a series of basic yet wholesome aromatics – onion, garlic, parsley. I season the kabobs with turmeric, cardamom, nutmeg, and of course – saffron! The saffron is the integral ingredient here – a must-have for any Iranian meat or rice dish.

Go ahead and make a platterful of these for your next dinner party along with some lovely pollo (rice), and your guests are sure to be super-impressed!

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Chicken Koobideh Kabob

Ingredients

• 2 lbs ground chicken
• 1.5 small onion
• 1 handful parsley
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp cardamom
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 5-6 strands saffron (soaked in 1tbsp water)
• 1 3/4 - 2 1/4 tsp salt (or to taste)

Instructions

1. In a food processor, grind the onions, parsley, and garlic until finely minced.
   

2. Add aromatics and spices to your ground chicken mixture. (For the saffron, make sure you soak the strands in a tablespoon of hot water. Add this to the chicken.) Combine well. Do not add salt just yet, it will get watery if you do! (If you do not have ground chicken, you can always make your own by taking boneless meat and grinding it in the food processor.)
   

3. Let mixture sit in the fridge for at least an hour or ideally overnight.
   

4. Once ready to grill, take out from fridge and let mixture sit until it reaches room temperature. Add salt and combine.
   

   
   

5. Take a small bowl of water and put it to the side. Shape the kabobs to your liking. If using an outdoor grill, shape kabobs onto long metallic skewers. If using indoor grill, simply shape into long sticks. 
   

   
   

6. Grill on both sides until they develop color. This should take a few minutes.
   

7. Serve hot with grilled chilies and lemons!