Sep 15

Many people (typically not Persian’s) think of kabab (kabob) as something on a tiny stick with bell peppers, and onions in between small beef pieces.  Here I will explain my recipe (or rather one passed down by my dad) for Kabab (Kabob) Koobideh.  :)

Kabab (Kabob) Koobideh

Kabab (Kabob) Koobideh

Ingredients:
1 lb meat - the best meat will be 80/20 …lean meat will not come out juicy!!
liquid saffron (optional)
Somagh (Sumac)
salt/pepper
3 spoons noon khoshk (breadcrumbs)
1 large red onion (or other onion if you prefer)- need to grate the onion and strain all the water out of it…it needs to be dry!

Directions:
Mix the ingredients well, and mash the ingredients up so well that the meat finds a sticky effect. Leave it in the fridge for an hour or two. When you bring the meat out once again mash it up and punch it. Then the hard part of forming it on the kabab skewers comes. This takes much practice and honestly I cant do it that well. You will take small amounts of the meat and stick it to the skewer by pressing down and getting it to stick well. I will have a video up soon that will show you the way in which it is made, and how to form it on the skewer. I also have a little cheating kit where you can push the skewer into the meat.

When you go to cook the kabob on the grill make sure you flip it over really fast at the beginning. Otherwise if one side cooks and the other hasn’t the meat will all fall off the skewer. Once done take the meat off the skewer using bread (usually pita). Serve with bread or rice.

Note: You may want to grill some tomatoes as well since they go really good with the kabob!

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Sep 15

This is a dish that is somewhat similar to Tahchine Morgh, but yet it is different! :) I actually call it Shirazi Polo ghalebi because I make it in a round oven safe dish (Pyrex).

Shirazi Polo Ghalebi

Shirazi Polo Ghalebi

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts (you can also use thighs, or a combination)- cut the chicken up in pieces
1 medium onion- chopped up
3 cups rice
2 small eggplants or 1 medium eggplant
1 cup yogurt
oil (or melted butter)
2 egg yolks
1 cup zereshk (barberries) - Found in Persian or Middle Eastern stores
Sugar (optional)
2 tablespoons liquid saffron
salt/ pepper
turmeric

Directions:
Wash rice, and soak in water. Add salt to the water as well.

In a frying pan or pot (has to have lid) place some oil and add the onions. Once the onions are tender add the chicken pieces and stir. Add salt, pepper, and turmeric. Add half a cup or a little more water to the chicken and cover. Allow to cook on med-low to med heat for approximately 30-40 minutes. Set the chicken pieces aside, and keep the chicken stock (strain the broth to remove onions).

Cut up the eggplant into circles and fry in oil. Keep on a high heat when sauteing since eggplants do soak up oil on lower temperatures. Place a paper towel on a dish and place the eggplant pieces on it when done.

Wash the zereshk after cleaning them (make sure you clean because stones may be mixed in the packaging). Place them in a small pot and add a spoon or two of oil. Add a bit of saffron and if you desire some sugar to the zereshk. Allow it to cook on a low or med-low temperature for a few minutes. Make sure you do not over cook the barberries, and turn the heat off once they are prepared. Place water in a pot to cook rice. When the water boils add the rice after pouring out the water it was soaking in. Once the pot begins boiling again, pour the rice into a strainer.

In a large bowl mix together the yogurt, some oil, a little bit of the chicken stock, egg yolks, liquid saffron, and some salt. Using a large cooking spoon (kafgir), spoon rice into this bowl (fill the cooking spoon with rice two times). Mix the rice in with everything else in the bowl.

Grease your round oven safe dish/Pyrex with oil and then take two tables spoons of the mixture and spread it around the dish to cover the bottom and sides. Then pour the rest of the mixture into the bottom of the dish. Pour some more rice into the Pyrex, add the eggplant pieces, then add the chicken pieces over that, and finally pour some of the zereshk (barberries) on the chicken. Keep the rest of the zereshk for later. Spoon the remaining rice into the dish to cover everything. Gently press down once everything is in the dish. Add a spoon of oil to the chicken stock saved earlier and pour this all over the contents in the Pyrex. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350° or 375° (degrees Fahrenheit) for 1 1/2 - 2 hours (one and a half to two hours). This way the crust will be crispy and golden brown in color.

When you take it out of the oven to serve, you may need to wait a few minutes before placing a platter on top of the Pyrex and then inverting the contents. Sometimes if enough oil was not used to grease the pan it will be stuck. Once that is done pour the remaining zereshk (barberries) over the upside down rice and serve.

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Sep 15

Many times Abgoosht is referred to as Dizi, but this has to do with the dish it is cooked in. For many of us we use pots, slow cookers, or even pressure cookers for convenience and the amount of time we have. The traditional recipe for Abgoosht is what I am sharing with you here.

goosht-Abgoosht

Ingredients:
Lamb meat ba ostokhan (with bones), or other meat as long as it has bones.
3-4 potatoes (depending on size of potatoes)
1 medium onion
Salt/Pepper
Turmeric
1 cup Nokhod (garbanzo beans)
1 cup lobiya sefid (white beans)
1-2 Limoo Amani (dried limes)
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
Lemon Juice (optional)
Cinnamon

Directions:

These directions are specific to a pressure cooker, but may be modified for a regular pot or slow cooker.

tilit-Abgoosht

Place the meat, onion, white beans, garbanzo beans, and dried lime(s) in the pressure cooker. Pour in water to cover everything, you may just want to pour in the water used to soak the beans and maybe some more if its not enough. Cover the pot and place it on med. heat. Once it steams you can release some of the steam, but allow it to stay on the stove for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes you will open the pressure cooker (steam will need to be released first if not done so completely). Add the washed potatoes (do not peel the skin off yet), tomato paste, and a little bit of cinnamon. At this time if you feel it is necessary you can add some lemon juice.
Cover the pressure cooker again and allow everything to cook for another 15 minutes on med. heat (it should steam up). Once it has steamed up, let the steam out and open up the pressure cooker.
When ready to serve you will pour the water into a separate bowl and then prepare the meat to be mashed up.

Preparing the Mashed meat (goosht koobideh):
You will peel the skin off the potatoes, clean the meat off the bones, and take out the dried limes. Mash the meat, potatoes (maybe not all the potatoes), and beans all together. Then you can pour some of the water on it is you desire. It is ready to eat with bread.

Preparing the tilit (water/bread):
You will want to tear up pieces of pita or barbari bread (or a combination) and pour the water over the bread. The bread pieces become soaked and this part of Abgoosht is called Tilit.

Note: The maghz (center) of the bones is really good. When I was young my siblings and I used to fight over who gets to eat it…in fact we still do. So if you want to extract it after you are separating everything, beat the contents of the bone out.

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