Iran

Menu: Koobideh (beef and lamb skewers), chelo (saffron rice), and saffron sharbat| Recipe Sources: @zaynahsbakes and rumispice.com

I’ve deliberately avoided making kebabs when I’ve tackled Middle Eastern countries in the past for this project because they’ve felt too obvious; and while I stand by my decision (one of the most beautiful parts of this project has been getting to explore the wide and delicious world of Levantine and broader Middle Eastern cuisine), I’m so glad that I finally gave in for Iran and went with Koobideh. Crispy, fragrant, and greasy, beef/lamb kebabs are truly rice’s soulmate, and paired with an icy glass of saffron and rosewater lemonade + a side of cooling yogurt? A homerun dinner to end all dinners.

Ready to cook?

Koobideh (link): Instead of just 1lb ground beef, I used 1lb ground lamb and 1/2lb ground beef (85/15 for the fat percentage). I adjusted the other ingredients to accommodate the additional meat and added chopped parsley directly to the mixture, but otherwise followed Zaynah’s ingredient list exactly! Another recipe I saw recommended letting the meat marinate in the fridge for 1-2 hours so I gave that a shot, but I followed Zaynah’s cooking instructions exactly and made her blistered tomato and onion salad as a side. The only other change I made was topping the rice with a whole egg yolk before serving (a traditional way to eat chelo & koobideh that one recipe writer referred to as “something Persian grandpas always do”) and I can’t recommend that style of plating enough!

Chelo: I watched so many different videos on how to make this that I honestly don’t even know which one to credit. I rinsed the uncooked rice (2 cups of basmati) in lukewarm tap water until the water running off was only lightly cloudy, then added the rice to a medium sized bowl. I added cold water to the rice (until it was about an inch submerged) + 2 tbsp kosher salt, then stirred well and let it brine uncovered for an hour at room temperature. Most chelo recipes call for a stovetop cook to achieve a super crispy bottom, but I was pressed for time so I just made it how I normally do in the rice cooker: rice + 1 tbsp ghee + 4 cups chicken broth. While the rice cooked, I bloomed 1/2 teaspoon of saffron in 1.5 tbsp medium-hot water for 15 minutes. When the rice was done, I set aside about 1/3 of it and stirred the saffron + bloomed saffron water into that.

Saffron Sharbat (link): No changes!