Kabab Koobide

Hello lovelies,

Hope you all having a great day, today's post is kakab koobide recipe which is a Persian dish and my absolute favorite kinda kabab. 

To be honest here, for me it took a while to figure out how to get it right and if you try it you'll see what I mean. so don't worry if you tried and was not satisfied for your first time don't give up,you'll improve it next time. there are 2 main points to keep in mind:
1st: using the right proportion of meat (with the right level of fat) and onions and make them mix all well together so kabab does not fall from the metal skewer on the BBQ. 

2nd: to have a right level of cooking, and avoid getting it too dry.

So now enough with the intro and let's get to the recipe:

Ingredients (makes 4 skewers):

500 gr of ground beef ( I get medium lean, lower level of fat than medium results in dry kabab)

2 medium sized onions grated ( after grating, it is important to separate the water from onions if they become too watery)

1 teaspoon of turmeric 

Salt and pepper

Tomatoes ( as many as you want, I usually consider 1 tomatoes for each person)

Mix everything well together for about 5-8 minutes. so the mixture gets slightly sticky. if you can't mix with your hand just take the half of the mixture and put it in the food processor and just use the pulse bottom 2 times ( that's it you don't need that much). then take it out from there, return it to the bowl and mix with the rest. cover the bowl and pop it into the fridge for at least 2 hours. I usually make it ahead and keep it refrigerated overnight.

Then when the time comes take it out of the fridge, take your wide steel skewers. take a handful of the meat and press it to the skewer uniformly. if the meat does not stay on the skewer now then you will have problem on the BBQ for sure. 

A trick that you could use here ( to make sure they won't fall on the BBQ): use a thin string and wrap the meat with it loosely ( the turns should not be very close together) and when it is cooked separate the strings from the meat by just unrolling it. 

I always manage the length of the kabab by the BBQ length, so keep that in mind. when all the meat is done, you could pop the skewers into the fridge again and hit up your BBQ.don't forget to divide your tomatoes in half then put the them also on skewers as well. 

I prefer charcoal ones but gas-BBQ also will do. the BBQ job is out of my territory, that's my guy's responsibility. but he told me that BBQ should be very hot and even in temperature. when you transfer the skewers ( meat and tomatoes) to the BBQ, start turning them frequently and cook each side for about 5-7 minutes. when it is done take a thin bread ( like pita bread) put it on the plate and leave the kakab between the bread; this helps them to stay warm and juicy.

when all is done, serve them hot with rice and saffron combo or bread. 

A quick note on how to make saffron: add about 1/2 teaspoon saffron to a cup ( in powder, I buy them in strings, in original form, then powder them myself),add small amount of boiling water and mix it well,so the water becomes a very intense orange color. to get even more intense, you could put the small cup inside your rice pan while you cooking your rice and steam it. then you can mix it with your rice.

Final comments: 

If you don't have the proper skewers, you could shape your meat into long, thin proportions and grill them at high temperatures in the oven.the oven should be preheated and the kabab should be placed as high as possible to the top source heat.   

Hope you try this and enjoy as well. 

Have a great Wednesday everyone,

Mania