Joojeh Kabab | Grilled Saffron Chicken
Succulent grilled saffron chicken.
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 545kcal
Ingredients
- 3 lbs. chicken breast or boneless/skinless thighs (cubed)
- 1 medium red onion (quartered)
- 1 large green bell pepper (cubed)
- 1 medium zucchini (sliced into ¼" slices)
Marinade
- 1 large yellow onion (ground and strained)
- ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic (crushed)
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 teaspoon thyme (optional)
Baste
- ¼ cup melted butter
- ¼ teaspoon ground saffron (dissolved in 1 tablespoon hot water)
Instructions
- Slice chicken into 2" cubes and add to a Ziplock bag. Prepare the red onion, bell pepper, and zucchini, then set aside.
Marinade
- Run the yellow onion through a food processor then drain the liquid through a strainer. Freeze the onion pulp for future use.
- Mix the onion juice with freshly squeezed lemon juice, pressed garlic, salt, pepper, and thyme (optional).
- Pour the marinade over the chicken in the ziplock bag. Seal and allow to marinate for 4 or more hours. Skewer the chicken on metal skewers, alternating with onions, peppers, and zucchini.
- Dissolve ground saffron in 1 tablespoon of hot water, then mix with the melted butter. Baste chicken with saffron butter.
Baste and Grill
- Barbecue over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes per side or until cooked through.
- Serve over dill rice or vermicelli rice.
Notes
- Instead of tossing out the ground onions that are not needed in this recipe, you can save them to use in kofta Kabob mix. It's perfect because you don't want the onion juice when making Kofta kabobs, only the onion. That way no part of the onions is wasted. Freeze the ground onion in a Ziplock bag until needed.
- Unlike most marinades, this marinade does not include oil. I left it out because the chicken is basted with butter as it cooks. If you would like to add some olive oil, mix ¼ cup into the marinade.
- Some Joojeh Kabob recipes call for yogurt in the marinade. If you want to add yogurt, mix ¼ cup of plain yogurt into the marinade.
- Sometimes the vegetables are skewered separately from the chicken. This is especially a good idea if you have vegetarians dining with you.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
Serving: 1skewer | Calories: 545kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 74g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 248mg | Sodium: 1360mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g
