Kabab Koobideh (Persian Ground Lamb and Beef Kebabs)
Ground lamb and beef kneaded with grated, squeezed onion, salt, pepper and saffron until it turns to paste, molded in long ridged kebabs on wide skewers and grilled fast over hot coals with whole tomatoes, served with lavash, rice and herbs.
Koobideh means "pounded." Wikipedia says the name comes from the Persian verb koobidan, "to pound," because the meat was traditionally beaten on a flat stone or log with a wooden mallet. Grated onion is the second essential ingredient: salted, rested and squeezed of much of its water, it makes up about 15 to 18 percent of the mix, and more onion means a juicier kebab that is more likely to fall off the skewer. Wikipedia describes two styles, a soft one kneaded warm and eaten with flatbreads like sangak and lavash, and a firmer, juicier one kneaded half-frozen and served with rice; it calls added beef or egg "less authentic."
This recipe is from Shadi HasanzadeNemati, the Iranian-born cook behind Unicorns in the Kitchen, who calls koobideh the most beloved kabob in Persian cooking, the one at every family gathering "from Tehran to Los Angeles." Hers uses half lamb and half beef, and no breadcrumbs, eggs or fillers: meat, onion, salt, pepper, saffron and a lot of kneading.
Why it works the kitchen science
Long kneading
25 minutes of working the salted meat turns it into a sticky paste that holds to the skewer and cooks up springy and juicy instead of crumbly.
Squeezed onion
Grated onion adds flavor and moisture, and squeezing out the water keeps the kebabs from sliding off as they cook.
Step by step
- Step 1
Sprinkle the saffron over the ice cubes in a small bowl and let them melt at room temperature; this is your bloomed saffron.
- Step 2
Put the lamb, beef and squeezed onion in a large bowl and mix with your hands until completely combined, about 15 minutes.
- Step 3
Add the salt, pepper and bloomed saffron and knead at least 10 minutes more, until the mixture is sticky and paste-like. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.
- Step 4
Prepare a charcoal grill so the skewers can rest above the coals without touching the grate (pull the grate, or set two bricks or flat pipes on either side to hold the skewer ends). The coals should glow evenly, partly covered with ash, with no smoke.
- Step 5
Keep a bowl of warm water nearby. Wet your hands, press a fistful of meat around a 1-inch-wide flat skewer and spread it into a 6-inch kebab about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Pinch ridges along it with your thumb and finger and pinch off a little at each end so it grips. Thread the tomatoes on separate skewers.
- Step 6
Grill the tomatoes 10 to 15 minutes, until blistered. Grill the kebabs in batches, flipping and turning constantly from the moment they go over the heat, 3 to 4 minutes, until browned and 160°F inside. Brush with saffron butter at the end, if you like.
- Step 7
Use a piece of lavash to pinch each kebab off its skewer into a covered pot to keep warm while you grill the rest. Serve with lavash, tomatoes, herbs and rice.
Kabab Koobideh (Persian Ground Lamb and Beef Kebabs)
Serves 6 · 12 kebabs · 2 hr 10 min total
Kebabs
- 1/2 tsp ground saffron
- 3 ice cubes
- 1 1/2 lb ground lamb
- 1 1/2 lb ground beef (80% lean; no leaner)
- 3/4 lb white onion, weighed after grating and squeezing out the liquid (about 2 large onions)
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
To serve
- 6 Roma tomatoes
- 6 pieces lavash
- Persian rice (chelow), optional
- Fresh herbs (sabzi khordan: basil, mint, scallions, radishes)
- Melted butter with a pinch of saffron, optional, for brushing
Method
- Sprinkle the saffron over the ice cubes in a small bowl and let them melt at room temperature; this is your bloomed saffron.
- Put the lamb, beef and squeezed onion in a large bowl and mix with your hands until completely combined, about 15 minutes.
- Add the salt, pepper and bloomed saffron and knead at least 10 minutes more, until the mixture is sticky and paste-like. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.
- Prepare a charcoal grill so the skewers can rest above the coals without touching the grate (pull the grate, or set two bricks or flat pipes on either side to hold the skewer ends). The coals should glow evenly, partly covered with ash, with no smoke.
- Keep a bowl of warm water nearby. Wet your hands, press a fistful of meat around a 1-inch-wide flat skewer and spread it into a 6-inch kebab about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Pinch ridges along it with your thumb and finger and pinch off a little at each end so it grips. Thread the tomatoes on separate skewers.
- Grill the tomatoes 10 to 15 minutes, until blistered. Grill the kebabs in batches, flipping and turning constantly from the moment they go over the heat, 3 to 4 minutes, until browned and 160°F inside. Brush with saffron butter at the end, if you like.
- Use a piece of lavash to pinch each kebab off its skewer into a covered pot to keep warm while you grill the rest. Serve with lavash, tomatoes, herbs and rice.
Adapted from Shadi HasanzadeNemati, "Kabob Koobideh Recipe", Unicorns in the Kitchen (June 21, 2023; updated February 20, 2026), serves 6. We follow it as written: 1 1/2 lb each ground lamb and 80 percent lean ground beef, 3/4 lb grated onion weighed after squeezing, 1 tablespoon kosher salt, 1 teaspoon pepper and 1/2 teaspoon ground saffron bloomed on 3 ice cubes; about 15 minutes of mixing, then 10 more after the seasoning; 1 hour in the refrigerator; 6-inch kebabs on 1-inch-wide skewers, kept off the grate; and 3 to 4 minutes per kebab over very hot coals, turning constantly. The 160°F check and the tomato cooking position are ours; the rice is the source's suggestion without an amount. Unicorns in the Kitchen. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (2)
Tips
- The beef must be at least 20 percent fat, HasanzadeNemati says, or the mixture won't get sticky enough.
- Flip the kebabs the moment they go on the grill and keep turning; that is what keeps them on the skewer.
- A meat grinder (or a stand mixer's grinder) run once over the meat and onion gives a finer paste.
- Sumac sprinkled over the top and a squeeze of lime are common at the table.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Koobideh is all lamb. Disputed: Wikipedia calls it ground lamb and says beef is "less authentic"; HasanzadeNemati and many Iranian cooks use half lamb, half beef.
- Koobideh is based on India's seekh kebab. Disputed: Wikipedia states it with no citation; the same article notes seekh is the Persian word for skewer, which may point the influence the other way.
- No eggs, no breadcrumbs. Documented as HasanzadeNemati's rule and Wikipedia's "less authentic" note on eggs.
- Saffron goes in koobideh. Folklore as a must: HasanzadeNemati uses it; Wikipedia's article does not mention it.
- Koobideh is served with rice. Documented for the firmer style (Wikipedia); the softer style goes with flatbread.
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