An irresistible recipe from the gorgeous new cookbook Persian Feasts: Recipes & Stories from a Family Table.
Chelow kebab transcends regional boundaries and culinary traditions across Iran. It is a meal served in kebab houses, fancy restaurants in metropolitan centres, and modest eateries in villages across the country. And it is often the sole offering at restaurants known as chelow kebabi. Families who rarely venture outside their homes for Persian meals make special outings (and queue) for chelow kebab.
It’s an exquisite dish of skewered charcoal-grilled beef or ground (minced) lamb kebabs, sprinkled with sumac and served with saffron rice, grilled tomatoes, raw onions, fresh herbs and Persian chutneys (torshi).
Method
- In a small bowl, bloom the saffron in 3 tablespoons of hot water, if using. Set aside side.
- Preheat a grill over high heat. Thread the tomatoes on to a skewer and grill for 6 minutes, turning halfway through cooking time.
- Place the rice in a bowl. Sprinkle the bloomed saffron water on top and gently mix, until the rice absorbs the saffron and takes on a deep golden colour. Traditionalists will mix butter and egg yolk into the rice. Set aside.
- Place the Persian flatbread (lavesh) on top. Place the grilled tomatoes, around the kebabs. Serve the accompaniments and the rice on a separate platter.
Persian Feasts: Recipes & Stories From A Family Table by Leila Heller, with co-authors Lila Charif, Laya Khadjavi and Bahar Tavakolian, $70, published by Phaidon.
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