Joojeh Kabob for Persian New Year

Hello and welcome, friends! Are you ready for spring? Tomorrow is the first day of spring. It’s also Persian New Year, or Nowruz (translation: New Day). Celebrated for over 3,000 years as the victory of spring over the darkness of winter, Persian New Year is a celebration of spring and a brand new year. So let’s celebrate the light, the flowers and the trees, and all the new growth that comes with spring. Let’s make Joojeh Kabob for Persian New Year!

Joojeh Kabob is typically served with grilled tomatoes and onions. We also grilled some lavash and I made some plain old rice. If you want to make traditional Persian Rice to go along with your Joojeh, I have a great recipe for Tahdig, check it out here: Tahdig (Persian Rice) in the Always Pan.

Day 1: Marinate

This marinade is easy! It does call for quite a bit of saffron, half a teaspoon (which is about 1.4 grams). The strands are easy to pulverize. But if you don’t have a mortar and pestle, you can use the butt of your chef’s knife and a bowl.

The marinade calls for half of the saffron water mixture. The remaining half will be part of the basting sauce.

Just mix the ingredients in a bowl. Add the cubed chicken, toss to coat. Then I poured the whole thing into a Ziplock, squeezed out the air and popped it in the fridge.

Day 2: Grilling

Take out your chicken and get your grill going. While the grill heats up and the meat loses its chill, prep your veggies. I halved the tomatoes and cut the onion into eighths. Go ahead and start your rice (Basmati is best for this dish).

The basting sauce is simply, lemon juice, butter and the remaining saffron water; combined and warmed through in a saucepan on the stove.

Researching grilling techniques for kabobs led us to discover a couple things: 1) definitely use flat skewers to keep your food from spinning on the skewer. 2) to get the best charring on your food, if you can, avoid using a grill altogether and let your kabobs sit directly over the coals. This required us to double thread the food to get longer skewers. It’s no problem if you can’t go this route, your kebabs will still be delicious if you cook them on grill grates.

Try to keep as many of the onions from the marinade on the chicken as you can when you thread the chicken. They will caramelize beautifully!

To the Grill!

Our kettle grill is quite large, so this set up may easier for you if you have a standard size charcoal grill. Grill your kabobs for about 4-6 minutes each side, basting after the first turn then every minute until the chicken is done.

We found that doing the chicken this way first, then placing the grill grates on for the tomatoes and onions was an easier way to get an even cook on the tomatoes and onions.

I plated the Joojeh Kabobs on a bed of rice; add tomatoes, onions and lavash. I also added some Israeli feta and chopped fresh parsley The saffron is the real star of this recipe. Saffron lends a deep honey flavor, only it’s not sweet. It tastes like how honey smells, if that makes sense…The smoky flavor from the charcoal combines with the saffron for a unique and distinct harmony of flavors.

This is one of our most favorite Persian dishes – it’s so easy, it’s become a go-to for us. I hope you give Joojeh Kabob a try to celebrate the arrival of spring and Persian New Year! How do you like to celebrate the arrival of spring? Let me know in the comments and reach out on Instagram and facebook – Let’s talk all things spring! Take care and be well, friends! xo Kelly

Kitchen Items Used in This Recipe

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Tools For Tahdig (Persian Rice)

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Cloth Napkins for Spring

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Print Recipe

Joojeh Kabob

(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Dinner, Main Course – Persian

By Kelly Djalali – Serves: 4-8

Prep Time: 30 Minutes, Plus Overnight Marinate – Cooking Time: 15 Minutes – Total Time: 45 Active Minutes

For these Persian Chicken Kabobs, the saffron lends a deep honey-scented flavor. The smoky flavor from the charcoal combines with the saffron marinade and buttery basting sauce for a unique and distinct harmony of flavors. Serve with grilled tomatoes and onions.

Ingredients

• Marinade
• 3.5 lb Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast
• 2 Onions, thinly sliced
• 1/2 tsp. Saffron, ground and dissolved in 2 tbsp hot water, divided
• 1/2 cup Plain Yogurt
• 2 tbsp. Olive Oil
• 2 cloves Garlic, smashed and chopped
• 1.5 tsp. Kosher Salt
• 1.5 tsp. Ground Black Pepper
• Saffron Lemon Butter Baste
• 1/4 cup Unsalted Butter
• 1/4 cup Lemon Juice
• Serve with
• Rice, Lavash, Feta, Parsley, Grilled Onions and Tomatoes

Instructions

1

Cut chicken into 2-inch cubes.

2

Place chicken in a large shallow container and mix in onions, half the saffron water, yogurt, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.

3

Coat all pieces of chicken completely with marinade

4

Cover (or transfer to a Ziplock) and marinate at least 6 hours and up to 2 days in the refrigerator.

5

Start your charcoal at least 30 minutes prior to grilling.

6

Thread chicken breast pieces close together onto metal skewers.

7

In a small saucepan add butter, lemon juice and the other half of saffron water. Cook this over medium heat until melted and combined.

8

Grill kabobs for 4-5 minutes on each side, basting with butter-lemon mix.

9

The chicken is done when the juice running out is no longer pink.

10

Let chicken rest about 5 minutes and slide off skewer.

11

Serve over rice with lavash, feta, tomatoes and onions.