Chelo Kabab Koobideh

Outdoor-grilled lamb kebabs with plain steamed rice and tomatoes.

Preparation: 20 min · Cooking: 50 min · Total: 2 hr 10 min · 2 servings

Ingredients

• Small raw onion, prepared as directed — 1
• 0.5 tsp Ground sumac
• 400 g Raw ground LAMB, about 20% fat as labelled product preference
• 240 ml Dry basmati rice, measured BEFORE rinsing
• Whole tomatoes for separate grilling — 2
• 1 tbsp Ghee
• 1500 ml Initial rice parboiling water, DRAINED
• 30 ml Separate plain water for COVERED STEAMING
• Salt, to taste
• Black pepper, to taste
• Additional boiling water ONLY if needed; measure additions (optional)

Instructions

1. Grate the stated small onion and squeeze excess juice through a clean suitable cloth.

   Grate the stated small onion and squeeze excess juice through a clean suitable cloth. Keep all the pulp and discard the juice; no fixed pulp weight or every-drop extraction is promised.

2. Mix raw lamb, onion pulp, salt and pepper in a chilled bowl.

   Mix raw lamb, onion pulp, salt and pepper in a chilled bowl. Keep raw-meat tools separate from tomatoes, rice and serving utensils.

3. Knead from about 10 minutes until cohesive and sticky, keeping meat cold with chilled tools and handling breaks.

   Knead from about 10 minutes until cohesive and sticky, keeping meat cold with chilled tools and handling breaks. Twenty-percent fat or kneading time does not guarantee adhesion.

   First check: 600 seconds

4. Refrigerate the meat mixture about 1 hour at 4°C or colder.

   Refrigerate the meat mixture about 1 hour at 4°C or colder. Keep it cold during later shaping rather than letting a large batch stand warm.

   First check: 3600 seconds

5. Divide into 4 equal similarly sized meat portions for base, 2 for half, 16 for fourfold.

   Divide into 4 equal similarly sized meat portions for base, 2 for half, 16 for fourfold. Shape onto suitable flat food-safe metal skewers with clean hands.

6. Wash tomatoes and put them on separate suitable skewers with clean tools.

   Wash tomatoes and put them on separate suitable skewers with clean tools. Keep them separate from raw meat contact.

7. Rinse the measured dry rice and drain.

   Rinse the measured dry rice and drain. Prepare it close to the steaming stage rather than leave parboiled rice waiting through a long meat braise. The base dry rice allowance is 240 ml.

8. Bring the separate 1500 ml base parboiling water to a boil and salt to taste.

   Bring the separate 1500 ml base parboiling water to a boil and salt to taste. Parboil rice from 7 minutes until rice is partly cooked, not mushy.

   First check: 420 seconds

9. Drain through a suitable colander safely, discarding the parboiling water.

   Drain through a suitable colander safely, discarding the parboiling water. Use manageable batches and do not lift an oversized boiling pot. The initial rice parboiling-water allowance was 1500 ml for the base.

10. Place the drained partly cooked rice in a clean pot.

    Place the drained partly cooked rice in a clean pot. No prepared saffron rice or extra unlisted butter is used in this plain-rice master.

11. Add the separate 30 ml base steaming water to the layered rice.

    Add the separate 30 ml base steaming water to the layered rice. Cover with a normal fitted lid and use very low heat; no towel seal or blocked steam vent.

12. Steam from 30 minutes until rice is tender without hard centres.

    Steam from 30 minutes until rice is tender without hard centres. If needed, add only small measured boiling-water amounts and continue gently.

    First check: 1800 seconds

13. Fold the measured 1 tbsp base ghee into the fully cooked rice.

    Fold the measured 1 tbsp base ghee into the fully cooked rice. Keep the rice hot until the kebabs are ready, following rice handling limits.

14. Use a suitable charcoal grill OUTDOORS ONLY with manufacturer-approved skewer support and a controlled coal bed without active flames.

    Use a suitable charcoal grill OUTDOORS ONLY with manufacturer-approved skewer support and a controlled coal bed without active flames. Never burn charcoal indoors or in a garage. The later checked lamb-centre target is 74°C.

15. Grill meat and separate tomatoes with safe tools, first checking a turn around 30 seconds.

    Grill meat and separate tomatoes with safe tools, first checking a turn around 30 seconds. The turn is not a promise to lock fat or prevent the meat falling.

    First check: 30 seconds

16. Start doneness checks around 4 minutes per side and continue until lamb centres reach the selected 74°C.

    Start doneness checks around 4 minutes per side and continue until lamb centres reach the selected 74°C. Cook tomatoes until tender without requiring burnt skins.

    First check: 240 seconds

17. Serve cooked kebabs on the rice with tomatoes, using a clean plate and tools.

    Serve cooked kebabs on the rice with tomatoes, using a clean plate and tools. Divide the measured 0.5 tsp base sumac across the dish; no raw egg-yolk topping is included.

Tips

• Cup = 240 ml; tbsp = 15 ml; tsp = 5 ml. Ingredient amounts scale exactly; instruction amounts describe the base 2 servings. Process waters, retained cooking water, infusion and derived liquids are separate, not guaranteed consumed yields. Times are first checks; keep the same method across scales.

Common mistakes

• Do not restore old draft ingredients or treat colour, fixed times, meat fat percentage or stirring direction as safety guarantees. Keep raw foods and used tools away from ready-to-eat portions.

Substitutions

• Only explicitly listed alternatives are included. Check package ingredients, allergens and required cooking; use pasteurized dairy and the specified dry/cooked pulse states.

Storage

Cool promptly in shallow portions, ideally refrigerating within 1 hour at 4°C or colder. Use within 24 hours. Follow any shorter product use-by limit; this selected household limit is not validated shelf-life evidence.

Reheating

Reheat only the portion needed, at most once, to 74°C throughout. Rice must have been chilled promptly and used within 24 hours; reheating does not rescue mishandled food.

About this recipe

Chelo Kabab Koobideh is presented as the owner's Iranian household version or stated adaptation. Ancient origins, royal exclusivity, therapeutic benefits and universal customs are not independently authenticated.

Editorial approval does not establish independent kitchen testing. Check allergens and follow safe food handling.