Joojeh Kabab is a deliciously tender Persian chicken kabob that has a unique saffron flavour, grilled over charcoal and served with bread, grilled tomatoes and rice. It's easy to make without a grill as well, and makes for a great summer recipe!
What is Joojeh Kabab?
It's no secret that Persian cuisine incorporates a lot of saffron, commonly used in rice and marinades. Saffron is what gives Joojeh Kabab its vibrant yellow colour and unique saffron flavour.
Joojeh in Persian means "young chicken" to signify that the recipe is made even more delicious with young and tender chicken. Joojeh Kabab can also be made with bone-in or boneless chicken. The more common type is usually boneless chicken (either chicken breast or chicken thighs) grilled over charcoal.
It can be served over saffron rice, alongside grilled tomatoes, which is the common way it is presented in restaurants. Or it can also be served with lavash bread as a wrap. Both are delicious!
It's quite similar to Shish Tawook which is a Lebanese chicken kabab, as they are both marinated in a yogurt marinade. But the key difference is that Joojeh Kabab is yellow and uses saffron, grated onions and lemon juice, whereas shish tawook is pink-ish/red and uses tomato paste and garlic with the yogurt mixture. So if you don't want to dish out the cost of Saffron... I suggest you try Shish Tawook!
Ingredients for Joojeh Kabab
The ingredients you need are few and simple, as long as you have the most important ingredient, which is saffron! Here's what you need to gather:
Boneless Chicken: I highly recommend using chicken thighs as opposed to chicken breast. It will result in much more tender results because of the added fat.
Saffron: You'll need some saffron threads which will be crushed and bloomed. This is what makes this recipe unique.
Plain Yogurt: Yogurt is excellent for marinating chicken, as it will tenderize it and infuse it with extra flavour
Onions: Grated onions or thinly sliced onions are used to impart more flavour into the marinade. This will result in so much flavour especially if marinated overnight.
Lemon Juice: The tang is essential in this recipe
Salt and Pepper: Seasoning!
How to make this recipe, step by step
How to bloom Saffron
Firstly, let's talk about Saffron. Saffron is never used in recipes without first blooming it. So: never use the saffron threads as-is, this will not give much of the flavour. You can bloom saffron in one of two ways, either with hot water or ice water.
Both methods start by grinding the saffron threads into a fine powder using a mortar and pestle. Then, follow either one of the below methods:
- Hot water blooming: Place the saffron powder into a bowl, and pour a few tablespoons of hot water. Make sure the water is first boiled, then allowed to cool for a few minutes before using to avoid shocking the saffron. Pour enough to submerge the powder and set aside for 15 minutes to bloom. Then its ready to use!
- Ice water blooming: Place the saffron powder into a bowl, and place a large ice cube (or two) on top. Set aside and allow the ice to slowly melt and bloom the saffron. Its ready to use when its fully liquified.
The Ice water method is slower and may yield better results, but I often use the hot water method if I need it bloomed quickly.
Okay, now that we know all about saffron, let's get back to the recipe. Here's how to make Joojeh kabab:
- Start by blooming the saffron using the methods described above
- Prepare the onions by grating it or slicing it very thinly. Grating imparts more flavour as it breaks down the onion more, but sometimes I get lazy and just slice. That works too.
- Also, prepare the chicken by cutting it into 1.5 inch cubes, as evenly as possible
- Next, mix together the yogurt, lemon juice, bloomed saffron, onions, and salt and pepper to make the marinade
- Then, mix the chicken with the marinade, cover and refrigerate overnight. Marinating overnight will be so worth it, so just plan ahead! If you're in a pinch, feel free to marinate for an hour in the fridge before grilling
- Finally, allow the chicken to come to room temperature for 30 minutes, then skewer onto metal skewers
- Grill the chicken on an outdoor grill, a stove top skillet or grill pan on medium heat for about 5-6 mins on each side. Ensure chicken is white and cooked through on the inside, and golden on the outside.
What to Serve with Joojeh Kabab
I love serving Joojeh with lavash bread or pita bread, along with grilled tomatoes and sliced onions smothered in sumac. You can then make a sandwich and enjoy! Another option is to serve it with rice, like yellow rice, Arabic rice, or even better, this Persian Baghali Polo. If I was serving rice, I'd also make a quick Jajik; so good with it!
If you want to go completely carb free and turn this into a light meal, Joojeh kabab will pair really nicely with fattoush or tabouli, or a quick cabbage or malfouf salad
Storage and Make Ahead Instructions
Can you make Joojeh Kabab ahead of time? Why of course you can! The best thing you can do for ultimate flavour is to marinate the chicken ahead of time. You can either dump the chicken cubes in the bowl with the marinade and store in an air tight container in the fridge.
Or, you can actually skewer the chicken and place in a tray with the marinade all over it. That way, its even quicker for you to simply grill the next day. Make sure you remove them from the fridge about 30 minutes before grilling to allow them to come to room temperature.
If you have leftovers, store them in an air tight container in the fridge for a few days. They taste amazing re-heated the next day in the oven or air fryer.
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Joojeh Kabab
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken thighs, cut into 1.5 inch cubes
- 1 teaspoon saffron strands (use ½ teaspoon if you don't have too much)
- 1.5 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 small onion, thinly sliced or grated
- 1 cup plain yogurt, full fat
- ¼ cup lemon juice (approx. juice of half a lemon)
Instructions
- Start by cutting the chicken into 1.5 inch cubes for skewering.
- Peel and thinly slice or grate the onions.
- In a mortar and pestle, grind the saffron until it forms a powder, then bloom it by adding 2 tablespoons of hot water to it and allowing it to sit for 5 minutes.
- Mix together the yogurt, onions, saffron, salt, pepper and lemon juice until well combined.
- Marinate the chicken in the yogurt mixture, preferably in an air tight container overnight for optimal flavour.
- Take the chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before grilling.
- Skewer the chicken if you are grilling, preferably on metal skewers. You can also use wood skewers, but make sure to soak them in water for 1 hour before using.
- Grill the chicken on an outdoor grill, a stove top skillet or grill pan on medium heat for about 5-6 mins on each side. Ensure chicken is white and cooked through on the inside, and golden on the outside.
- You can also bake in the oven for 20-25 mins at 400F, turning half way.
- Serve with bread, and if you like some grilled onions, grilled tomatoes, sumac onions and salad on the side.
Notes
- If you don't have an outdoor grill, you can grill indoors on a grill pan or use the oven baked method (details in the recipe card)
- Saffron is quite expensive, but its what makes this recipe unique. If you don't have saffron, I suggest you check out this Shish Tawook recipe.
- Make sure to bloom your saffron correctly before using it. That means grinding the strands and not using them whole. Find details on how to bloom in the blog post.
- Marinate overnight for optimal flavour.
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