Iran, United Arab Emirates – Kabab Koobideh

by Adelina Aida

This is one of the best dishes in Iranian Cuisine. This is very delicious and tasty because of the spices addition in meat mince and then the cooking method of grilling on an open fire. This is very finely minced meat with spices and vegetables are added. Mostly used mincemeat is from lamb and beef. Chicken is rarely used in traditional dishes like this kabob koobideh. Chopped vegetables like onions, tomatoes, green chilies, and some softening ingredients like eggs and yogurt are added with Iranian spices into the mince. Then the large metal skewers are used to make them shaped large or small kababs depends on the choice. Some people use to have large and huge kababs. Some cooked small one bite kababs. These kababs are served with many sauces and salads to admire the taste and increase the appetite. Sometimes vegetables like corn, tomatoes, green pepper are also grilled over the charcoal to serve some grilled vegetables with this kabab.

This dish is so popular worldwide. There are hundreds of Kababs that are now cooked and served with different sauces, cooked in different styles even in gravies and curries. Kababs are also cooked in rice like Kabab polow, kabab rice, etc. Vegetable kababs are cooked, pulse kabab are cooked. But these kababs are traditional dishes of Iranian cuisine.

This dish is a snack or appetizer dish that is served either before the main meal or can be served as a snack. It is a dry dish and served with different sauces and some salads. Some grilled vegetables are also be served. A platter is prepared in which this kabab koobideh with chili sauce, sumac salad, bread, and grilled vegetables are served in a huge platter.

This dish is traditionally included in the national cuisine of Iran and also in many other cuisines but with different names.

The alternative names of kababs are :

• Kobida
• Kebideh
• Kebabs
• Kabab
• Seekh Kababs (cooked on skewers)
• Sheftalia
• Kebabi
• Kebab Halabi

Kababs included in other national cuisines like :

• Omani cuisine
• Turkish cuisine
• Indian Cuisine
• Iranian cuisine
• Khaleeji cuisine
• Persian cuisine
• Qatari cuisine
• Bahranian cuisine
• Western cuisine, etc.

IRANIAN CUISINE

Iranian cuisine is included in the Khaleeji cuisine because this cuisine has a great impact on Arabian and Emirati cuisine. Many dishes of Arabs are included in the Iranian cuisine and they share almost the same ingredients in their dishes. Eastern Arabian cuisine is also known as Khaleeji cuisine and this cuisine has many other cuisines are included. Khaleeji cuisine shares many other from other cuisines and other countries in order to have the same ingredients and cooking style. Khaleeji cuisine is originated from Romans, Persian, and Arabs. They share their traditional dishes and the vast and versatile cuisine is formed having many dishes, desserts, and snacks.

Iranian cuisine is known as āšpazi-e iranī in Persia. It comprises the traditions of the Irani people and has a huge impact on Persians. Persian are assumed to be natives to Iranians.

Iranian culinary culture and tradition are not the native and tradition of their heritage. It is evolved by time and influence by other traditions. Persianization and the Mughal dynasty create a huge evolution while dealing with the Iranian culture and tradition.

While talking about the main course of Iranian cuisine Kababs are included, in snacks Kababs are included, in the Appetizer section kababs have a special place. Iranian cuisine has a huge variety of Kababs.

Staple food of Iranian cuisine

• Kababs
• Rice
• Stew
• Ash/soups
• Polow/dami
• Breads
• Kateh
• Chelow

ETYMOLOGY OF KABAB KOOBIDEH

Kabab Koobideh is a word derived from the Persian Language. Kabab is the word that refers to the dish of meat mince in skewers but Koobideh refers to the slamming word used after Kababs. It is used to cook on the flat stone in the smashed form with a wooden mallet. It is traditionally cooked on the skewers and grill over the charcoal.

KABAB : Main word used for the dish

KOOBIDEH : Slamming word used after kabab word.

HISTORY OF KABAB KOOBIDEH

The usage of meat mince in cooking kababs was first time used in SAFAVID DYNASTY CUISINE. It was the time of the 16th century when Iranian cuisine evolved and Kababs included in the staple food of North Iran.

Then Persian spices were added to the food of Iran and made it more delicious. Adiveh, Saffron, Rose, Golpar, cardamon were the spices used in the traditional dishes of Iran based on Persian spices.

TYPES OF KABAB IN IRANIAN CUISINE

JUJEH KABAB

Kababs are always delicious when it comes to meat varieties. These kabab types are usually made up of Chicken and this dish has used small chunks and bite-size pieces of chicken meat.

Jujeh kabab is known as GRILLED CHICK. It has the use of grilled chicken pieces either with bones or boneless. It is more like grilled chicken not in the kabab form. They are served with special bread. Sometimes they are served as they wrapped in the bread with some sauces. Some vegetables are also arranged with chicken meat pieces and grilling together makes it a very versatile dish that has vegetables and meat together. Vegetables are marinated with the same marination as chicken.

These kababs are also called JOOJAY KABAB, JUJEH KOOBIDEH, etc.

KABAB BARG

Kabab barg or kabab e barg is meant to be LEAFY KABAB. These kababs are known as leafy kababs because they are very thin, long, and flat kababs. They are cooked with beef, lamb, chicken, etc. You can make it by adding different vegetables with spices and cooked meat shreds. This is known by its name and appearance. They are very juicy and cooked within no time. All we have to marinate the thin slices of meat and cooked on the open fire by barbeque them.

They are a very popular Persian dish cooked in Iran. Kabab e barg is typically called soltānī, which means ‘‘(a meal) in the style of a sultan”

KABAB TORCH

These kababs are only known by the ingredients used in this marination. They used very different ingredients that are not commonly added to the dishes of Iranian cuisine. Kabab Torsh is from the province of Iran, Gilan. It is only cooked by beef meat and specifically, SIRLOIN part of the beef meat.

The use of special ingredients are :

• Pomegranate juice
• Olive oil
• walnut paste
• Parsely
• Chopped garlic.

BONAB KABAB

These kababs are very light and have few ingredients to add like salt, onions, parsley, and lemon juice is added into the lamb mince. They are very mild and juicy kababs. They have not spiced just salt and some aromatic flavors.

Banabi Kabab is named by the name of the city BONAB. This was first cooked in eaten in that city so named as BONABI kabab.

This is served with :

• Sangak Kabab
• Sour orange slices
• Green chilies
• Tomatoes
• Onions

ELEMENTS OF THE DISH

MEAT MINCE

This is purely a meat dish but some vegetarian varieties are also popular in Iran. This dish is traditionally cooked with lamb or beef mince. But now this is cooked by adding different meat but with the same addition of spices and cooking method.

Kabab koobideh is traditionally cooked by adding meat mince :

• Mutton
• Lamb
• Beef
• Goat

But now other meat options are also very popular and kababs are cooked by adding :

• Chicken
• Turkey
• Clams
• Fish

VEGETABLES

Raw vegetables are added to the mince while marinating it with spices. This addition of some vegetables in very finely chopped form makes it more texture and crunch to the kababs and also makes it juicy.

• Onions
• Tomatoes
• Green chilies
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Green bell peppers
• Parsely
• Mint
• Cilantro

GARNISHING

Kababs are so palatable and delicious, they don’t need any garnishing but sometimes they are garnished with :

• Parsely
• Grilled tomatoes
• Green chilies
• Grilled corns
• Cilantro

SERVED WITH

They are served with different bread-like :

• Lavash
• Sangak
• Tanur bread
• Barbari
• Sheermal

And with sauces, salads like :

• Cucumber salald
• Raw Onions rings
• Chili sauce
• Dizi stew
• Baqala Qataq

INGREDIENTS

1. Lamb mince = 750 grams (with 40% fat)
2. Chopped onions = 2 medium sized
3. Chopped tomatoes = 1
4. Chopped garlic = 2 tbsp
5. Green chilies paste = 2 tbsp
6. Parsely chopped = 4 tbsp
7. Lemon juice = 4 tbsp
8. Gram flour = 6 tbsp (for binding meat mince together)
9. Salt = 1 tbsp
10. Cumin seeds = 2 tbsp
11. Red chili powder = 1 tbsp
12. Coriander dry seeds = 1 tbsp
13. Dry pomegranate seeds = 4 tbsp
14. Butter = 2 tbsp (For softness)
15. Oil = 1/2 cup (drizzling while barbeque)
16. Skewers = 12 to 16
17. Charcoal = for grilling

SERVING

1. Parsely leaves = few
2. Grilled tomatoes = 4
3. Grilled corns = 2
4. Sour orange slices = 6 to 7
5. Green chilies = 2

COOKING METHOD

1. Take a large mixing bowl and add lamb mince in it.
2. Lamb mince should be dry enough otherwise the kababs break and spread while cooking.
3. Make the mince very dry and cotton cloth. Mince must have 30 to 40% fat content to make kababs moist and bind together.
4. Now add chopped onions, garlic, tomatoes, green chilies into the mince.
5. Then add all the dry spices into the mince for proper marination.
6. Add butter and gram flour for softness and proper binding of the kababs to skewers while cooking.
7. Gram flour absorbes all the moisture and make it firm, on other side butter makes the kababs juicy and soft.
8. Now let this meat marinated in refrigerator for 2 hours.
9. Prepare the griller by adding charcoal and warm up them.
10. Take metal skewers and start preparing the kababs over the skewers.
11. Kababs are not too much thick or thin, moderate consistency and diameter of kababs are essential.
12. Thick Kababs are hard to cook and thin kababs are burnt easily.
13. If you like, take some tomatoes and corns in the skewers and grill them over the charcoal by addin some salt and oil over it.
14. Turn the kababs and spread oil with brush over the kabab while barbeque to have a nice color on kabab.
15. When tender and crispiness appears, take of the kababs from skewers and garnish them with grill tomaotes, corns and sauces.
16. SERVE!!!