Being an Indian and grown up having food with lots of spices, I could easily adapt to a cuisine with no spice at all. Here I am talking about the Iranian Cuisine which is rich in flavors but has comparatively less spice. This is the advantage of living in UAE which is the home for cuisines from around the world and the authentic Persian food is easily available here. I just fell in love with the Persian food the first time I had, due to its simplicity in preparation and all the subtle flavors used in making it so unique and special. Iranians take the utmost pride in preparing the rice also known as ‘polo’ which is cooked with love and perfection. You can see one of my old posts where I have posted three varieties of Iranian Rice which can be served along with any kind of kababs. Also, check out the recipe of an Iranian specialty called ‘Baghali Polo Ba Mahicha’, slow-cooked lamb shanks served with broad bean and dill rice.
Kabab Koobeideh is also known as ‘Lule Kabab’ is an Iranian delicacy. It is traditionally served with saffron rice topped with a generous amount of butter and grilled tomatoes. You really do not need any kind of curry with such flavorful rice. The kababs are very soft, succulent and has a melt in the mouth texture. If you are looking for this kind of texture in homemade kababs, the secret lies in the amount fat added to the meat while preparing these kababs. Give it a try and let me know the feedback on the results you achieved in the comment box. This recipe of Kabab Koobeideh is a part of the Muslim Food Bloggers Challenge with the theme as ‘Meat’ keeping in mind the upcoming Eid season. The theme ‘meat’ sounded easy but then I realized that it was really difficult to choose the recipe to be prepared as I already have a variety of Meat Recipes on blog…be it Biryani, Kadhai Dishes, Kababs or Curries.
Kabab Koobeideh with Saffron Rice ~ Persian Seekh Kebab
Kabab Koobeideh is an Irani style seekh kabab made with meat mince using minimal spices and lots of flavors from saffron, turmeric, and onion making it the juiciest and succulent kabab ever.
Ingredients
- 500 grams mutton mince
- 100 grams fat mince
- 2 medium size onion
- 2 teaspoon black pepper powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon saffron strands (a pinch)
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 2 cups basmati rice
- Butter as needed
- Pinch of saffron strands for rice
- Salt
- 1 cup = 250 ml
Directions
- Step 1 Grate onion, drain and discard the juice by keeping the grated onion in a colander. Grated onion needs to be completely dry before adding to the mince.
- Step 2 Soak saffron in 3 tablespoons warm water for 15 minutes. Crush the strands slightly to release the flavor and color.
- Step 3 In a large bowl, mix together mutton mince, fat mince, grated onion, crushed black pepper, turmeric powder, soaked saffron along with its water, and salt. Mix well for 5 minutes till the mixture is smooth and all ingredients are well combined.
- Step 4 Marinate the mince mixture for 4 to 5 hours in the refrigerator.
- Step 5 Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
- Step 6 Dip hands in water, take a handful of mince mixture and shape it around a flat kabab skewer. Flatten the kabab with dents as shown in the picture below.
- Step 7 Place the kebabs in the oven close to the top flame. Grill the kebabs for 10 minutes on each side. Baste with melted butter while cooking.
- Step 8 Serve hot with saffron rice and grilled tomatoes.
- Step 9 Wash and soak the rice for 30 minutes. Heat enough of water and salt to cook the rice. Add the soaked rice and drain when cooked. Return the cooked rice back to the saucepan. Add 2 to 3 tablespoon butter and soaked saffron strands to the rice (see the pictures given below). Cover the saucepan and cook the rice on low flame for 5 minutes (dum cooking).
- Step 10 Serve the rice hot along with the kababs and grilled tomatoes.
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