Persian cuisine is easily in my top 5 favorite cuisines of all time. I mean how could one not fall in love with its balanced flavors, the bright & fresh ingredients, and of course the myriad of different types of kebabs. It’s where you find all of the classics such as koobideh, bakhtari, and of course the iconic shish kebab. But if I’m being honest, all of those kebabs are nothing compared to my personal favorite, the simple joojeh kebab.
If you’ve never heard of it before, It’s a fairly basic kebab solely consisting of chunks of boneless chicken breasts. But don’t let its simple appearance fool you, as this kebab is packed full of flavor thanks to a special yogurt-based marinade.
Yes, you read that right, yogurt!
While it might sound like an odd ingredient at first, trust me when I say that yogurt is quite possibly the best marinade base that exists! You see, it all has to do with this special tenderizing ingredient known as lactic acid. Maybe you’ve heard of it before? But what makes yogurt so special is the fact that it has just the right amount of lactic acid. This means that it will always tenderize the meat without over tenderize it. You could almost say that it’s foolproof.
So if these joojeh kebabs are sounding good to you then let’s get going with the recipe.
Tips, Tricks, & Suggestions
- In today’s recipe, we will be using bloomed saffron. If you don’t know what that is or how to make it, then check out our quick lesson on how to bloom saffron.
- You can add veggies to this kebab just like you would for a shish kebab. However, I find it best if you cook your veggies on separate skewers that way you can make sure they cook properly.
- I love serving this with some refreshing Shirazi salad and saffron rice.
Joojeh Kebab Recipe
Prep time: 10 minutes
Marinate time: 6 to 24 hours
Cook time: 15 to 20 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients
1 ½ to 2 Lbs of boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 to 1½ inch sized chunks
For the marinade:
1 Cup of plain yogurt
1 Large red onion, grated
3 Tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
¼ Cup of extra virgin olive oil
¼ Cup of bloomed saffron
2 Teaspoons of salt
½ Teaspoon of black pepper
Instructions
- Make the marinade: Get out either a large bowl or a zip lock bag and add all of the marinade ingredients to it. Then mix all of these ingredients up until it forms a uniform marinade sauce.
- Add and mix in the chunks of chicken breast and let it marinate in your fridge anywhere from 6 to 24 hours.
- After the chicken has been properly marinated, get them on some kebab skewers and set your grill to high heat.
- Grill the kebabs: Once your grill is hot, place the joojeh kebabs down and let them grill for 7 to 10 minutes.
Then turn them over and let them continue to grill for an additional 7 to 10 minutes, or until it becomes golden in color.
- Take the joojeh kebabs off of the grill and use a pair of tongs to remove the meat from the skewers. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Joojeh Kebab Recipe
Equipment
- kebab skewers
Ingredients
- 1 ½ to 2 Lbs of boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1 to 1½ inch sized chunks
For the marinade:
- 1 Cup of plain yogurt
- 1 Large red onion grated
- 3 Tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
- ¼ Cup of extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ Cup of bloomed saffron
- 2 Teaspoons of salt
- ½ Teaspoon of black pepper
Instructions
- Make the marinade: Get out either a large bowl or a zip lock bag and add all of the marinade ingredients to it. Then mix all of these ingredients up until it forms a uniform marinade sauce.
- Add and mix in the chunks of chicken breast and let it marinate in your fridge anywhere from 6 to 24 hours.
- After the chicken has been properly marinated, get them on some kebab skewers and set your grill to high heat.
- Grill the kebabs: Once your grill is hot, place the joojeh kebabs down and let them grill for 7 to 10 minutes. Then turn them over and let them continue to grill for an additional 7 to 10 minutes, or until it becomes golden in color.
- Take the joojeh kebabs off of the grill and use a pair of tongs to remove the meat from the skewers. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Inspiration from other blogs
From Persian Mama
From Tumeric & Saffron
