Persian Ground Lamb Kabab – Kabab Koobideh

We eat dinner as a family pretty much every night.  It’s something that has always worked for us but Friday evenings are special. We have specifically set aside this evening for us and disconnect from the external world. It’s when we spend some quality time, have the best conversations, watch a movie, and mostly eat takeout. It’s the evening when I get a break from cooking but if it is a special dinner I do help in. Such family time is even more important now as our daughter is grown and has her own schedule, activities, and school. After some years we will only have time and memories but not our daughter when she moves away from us.

My family was waiting to eat while I hurriedly I tried to take a shot.

Last Tuesday was my wonderful husband’s birthday. As it was a working day we celebrated it on Friday.  I made Koobideh kababs. It seems fitting that the man I married and fell in love later should deserve a special meal for the momentous occasion.  Koobideh kababs are not your usual kebabs! They are moist and juicy strips of smokey grilled, seasoned ground lamb. These kababs are generally accompanied by a mound of Persian rice, grilled ripe tomatoes and some kind of yogurt dip. Since my husband does not like to eat carb in the evening, for him I made a summer vegetable medley of corn, kale , orange and red bell pepper.  First, I sautéed the  onion and garlic in olive oil, then added the vegetables, seasoned with salt, pepper, sumac, and it was done. The whole meal turned out great! My husband kept commenting on how good the food was and I was smiling from ear-to-ear.

Lamb is generally expensive and can be hard to find depending on where you are. I got mine from a local meat shop. Ground beef, goat or chicken can also be used or mixed in depending on what you prefer. This is the kind of kabab that needs meat with some fat on it. Koobideh is basically made with very few ingredients consisting of ground meat, grated onion, salt and pepper. Adding sumac, turmeric, saffron, herbs or any other ingredient is totally optional and depends on one’s individual tastes and preferences. I did use sumac and saffron in my recipe. Sumac is a wonderful middle eastern spice that is made by grinding up dried sumac berries. It’s deliciously tangy flavor is hard for me to give up. You can easily find Sumac in Middle Eastern and Canadian supermarkets. Saffron is hands down my favorite spice since I was a child. My mother always added it to special dishes prepared for celebrations. Its smell serves as a reminder of wonderful home cooked meals and good times spent together.

Below is a picture of my daughter helping her dad in grilling the kebabs. Our dog truffles,  anxiously looking at them, hoping he might get something.

I have made these kebabs a couple of times and each time it has been well appreciated. But there are certain things you need to keep in mind for this recipe to be a success.

Here are my Quick Notes

• You need flat metal skewers. They hold the meat in place better.  Mine were 1/2″ wide but traditionally the one inch skewers are used. If you don’t have skewers, you can use this recipe to make patties, and cook on stove top or in oven.
• The ground lamb meat mixture needs approx. 20% fat so that your mixture will stick to the skewers and not fall off.
• Make sure you squeeze as much liquid as you can out of the onions before adding them to the meat.
• The key to a good Koobideh kabab is in mixing. You should use your fingers to massage the kebab mix for a good 5-7 minutes. I find a stand mixer or a food processor very handy rather than mixing by hand.
• Let the meat mixture rest in the refrigerator for an hour or overnight. This makes it easier to shape, and the mince will adhere to the skewers better too.
• Keep a bowl of water handy to dip your hand into before handling the meat mixture. A moist hand will prevent the mixture from sticking to your hands too much.
• Scoop a handful of the meat mixture and slide it onto the middle of a flat skewer, patting it along the length of the skewer. The pressure has to be gently applied so that it thins itself over the skewer. Keep wetting your palm to make this process really easy. Ideally the size of these kebabs is 1 ” or a bit less in diameter and approx. 6″ in length.
• Rest the skewer on a cookie tray so that the ends of the skewer rest on the edges of the tray and the kebab is suspended in the middle. Repeat with the remaining mixture and skewers. Loosely cover the skewers and put them in the fridge for 1/2 an hour minimum to firm up.
• When you are ready to cook heat up the charcoal or gas grill to medium high and cook skewers on open flame. The meat should not touch the grill grates. Place bricks on both ends of the grill so that the skewers rest on the bricks. Turn them frequently to ensure they are cooked on all sides. If you cook one side all the way, the raw side will not be strong and the meat will fall off the skewer into fire. Also, it should not take more than 5 minutes to cook. Otherwise, the kebab will get dry. Gently pull the cooked kababs off the skewers with a piece of flat bread.  Sprinkle with sumac.

Although this recipe takes some time, it is more than worth it in the end!