Joojeh kabab

Ingredients

• Boneless chicken thigh1.2 kg
• Onions3
• Saffron1 pinch
• Lemons3
• Yoghurt150 ml
• Butter80 g
• Olive oil60 ml
• Tomatoes — to serve6
• Basmati rice — to serve500 g
• Sumac — to serve1 tbsp
• Salt and pepperto taste

Salt and spices grow more slowly than the rest: doubling a dish does not double the pepper.

Weight converts to ounces and volume to cups. Grams of flour are not turned into cups, because that depends on how tightly it is packed.

Method

1. 1

   Grind the saffron with a pinch of sugar and steep it in three spoons of warm water for fifteen minutes.

   17 min

2. 2

   Grate the onions finely and squeeze the juice through muslin, discarding the pulp.

   12 min

3. 3

   Mix the onion juice, half the saffron infusion, the juice of two lemons, the yoghurt, oil, salt and pepper.

   6 min

4. 4

   Cut the chicken into four-centimetre pieces, coat it in the marinade and refrigerate it eight hours.

   15 min

5. 5

   Thread the pieces onto flat skewers packed tight and get the coals to an even strong heat.

   25 min

6. 6

   Grill eight minutes a side, turning the skewer every two minutes.

   18 min

7. 7

   Mix the melted butter with the remaining saffron and brush the kebabs before serving. Serve with rice, tomatoes and sumac.

   8 min

About the dish

Onion juice rather than onion itself is the marinade. Grated onion is squeezed through muslin: the pulp burns on the coals, while the juice tenderises the meat with its enzymes.

The saffron is steeped in warm water and split in two: half into the marinade, half into the basting butter at the end. Colour and aroma then go on in two layers.

The pieces go on flat skewers rather than round ones. On a round skewer the meat spins with every turn and cooks on one side only.

Worth knowing

• — Marinate eight hours at least, ideally a full day. In two hours the saffron gives colour alone and no tenderising happens.
• — Grill the tomatoes on a separate skewer. Alongside the meat they release juice and the chicken stews instead of grilling.
• — Salt the marinade moderately. The yoghurt and lemon are already working, and extra salt draws moisture out of the chicken overnight.

Nutrition

Per serving at the base yield, calculated from the ingredients rather than measured in a lab.

Calories

680 kcal

Protein

48 g

Fat

30 g

Carbs

52 g

More from Iran

• Ghormeh sabzi — Lamb stewed with a mountain of herbs, beans and dried lime. The herbs are fried until nearly black.
• Tahdig — Rice with a golden crust on the bottom of the pot, made from rice, potato or flatbread.
• Fesenjan — Duck or chicken in a thick sauce of ground walnuts and pomegranate molasses.