Persian Saffron Chicken Kabab – Joojeh Kabab
Nothing beats a plate of aromatic, buttered rice with grilled tomatoes and of course the protagonist of this dish: Joojeh Kabab.
It’s a favourite among our friends and my go-to kabab recipe when we gather for a BBQ. The secret to perfect Persian Chicken Kabab, as you can guess, is the marinade. Keep reading to find out how I make mine.
When we have many guests I prepare different kinds of kabab and we just enjoy them on their own as finger food. But if you want my honest opinion the best way to eat it is with rice and grilled tomatoes. Yummy!
Serve this delicious Kabab with aromatic Persian Saffron Rice.
Cook the most popular Persian dishes at home with the help of my e-book.
Time
The day before:
Marinating: 12 hours +
On the day:
Prep: 15 min
Cook: 60 min
Total: 75 min
Ingredients (serving for 4)
1 kg / 2.2lbs skinless and boneless chicken thighs or breasts or a mix of both
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 medium onion
2 tsp (smoked) paprika powder
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground saffron
8 medium tomatoes
Method
The day before
Dissolve 1/2 tsp of ground saffron in approx. 3 tbsp hot water.
Skin off the onion and quarter it. Separate the layers and add them to a bowl.
Add the mayonnaise, lemon juice, olive oil and all the spices, including saffron water. Combine everything well.
Cut the chicken thighs into 2 to 3 pieces each, depending on their size. Transfer the chicken pieces to the bowl with the marinade, moving them around until they completely covered in marinade.
Transfer the chicken and marinade into a large freezer bag (or a food container), close it carefully without locking in any air and let the chicken marinate for at least 12 hours. I usually marinate the evening before my BBQ, so the chicken has plenty of time to soak up all the flavours.
On the day
Get your BBQ started about half an hour before you want to start cooking.
Wash the tomatoes and leave them whole. Skewer them through the side on your BBQ skewers. Also, pierce each tomato a couple of times with a small kitchen knife. Set them aside.
Skewer the chicken pieces through their narrow sides, so that their larger surface will be facing the charcoals.
If you like to bbq the onions from the marinade, skewer them as well.
Once the charcoal turns white it is ready to grill the tomatoes. If you made an onion skewer you can add it about 5 minutes after the tomatoes.
Keep an eye on the tomatoes and turn them once the skin turned black on one side. They are ready once the skin turned black all around and they are nice and soft. This should take about 15 minutes but it depends on the temperature. When you hold the skewer down they should slide off without you pushing them. Transfer them to a pot with the lid on and put them close to the BBQ to keep them warm.
By now the charcoal’s temperature should be low enough to grill the chicken. It shouldn’t be too hot, so the chicken doesn’t burn on the outside while still rare inside. A lower temperature allows them to cook evenly, get a nice colour on the outside, and stay juicy inside. Turn the skewers regularly and don’t leave them out of the side. They should be ready in about 30 minutes but this is only a rough guideline because it depends on the exact temperature of your bbq (and it applies to chicken THIGHS only).
Serve the chicken HOT with aromatic Persian Rice and grilled tomatoes and onion.
Time to dig in! I hope you enjoy your Joojeh Kabab!
I hope you enjoyed this recipe! If you have any questions please let me know in the comments. I’m always happy to help. I’d love to see your Joojeh Kabab!
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