Koobideh Kebab

Koobideh is Iran's best-loved kebab: minced meat kneaded with grated onion until sticky, pressed onto wide skewers and grilled over charcoal.

TIME BREAKDOWN
Prep: 1h 30m
Cook: 15 min
Total: 1 hour 45 minutes
Vegetarian
❌
Nuts
❌
Serves
6 people
Difficulty
Medium

Ingredients

  • 500g minced lamb (about 20% fat)
  • 250g minced beef (about 20% fat)
  • 1 large onion (about 300g), finely grated
  • 1½ tsp fine salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • ½ tsp ground turmeric
  • ¼ tsp saffron threads, ground and steeped in 2 tbsp hot water
  • To serve:
  • 6 tomatoes, for grilling
  • 40g butter, melted
  • Sumac
  • Chelo (Persian steamed rice) or lavash bread

Method

  1. Put the grated onion in a clean tea towel and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Discard the liquid and keep the pulp.

  2. Combine the meat, onion pulp, salt, pepper, turmeric and saffron water in a large bowl. Knead firmly with your hands for 10 minutes until the mixture is very sticky and paste-like.

  3. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour, or up to 24 hours, so the flavours develop and the mixture firms.

  4. Prepare a charcoal barbecue or heat a grill to high. Dip your hands in cold water and divide the mixture into 6 portions of about 125g.

  5. Press each portion around a wide, flat skewer into a long shape about 20cm long, pinching in indentations along the length with your fingertips.

  6. Grill over hot coals for 4-5 minutes per side, turning only once, until browned and cooked through. Grill the whole tomatoes alongside until charred.

  7. Brush the kebabs with melted butter and dust with sumac. Serve straight away with chelo or lavash.