Persian koobideh kebabs with saffron rice and grilled tomatoes

Juicy minced lamb kebabs seasoned simply with onion, saffron and sumac, served the Iranian way with buttery saffron rice and blistered tomatoes. A family feast with very little fuss.

Ingredients

• 700 g Lamb mince
• 1 Onions, grated and squeezed very dry
• 0.1 g Saffron, ground with a pinch of sugar and steeped in 2 tbsp hot water
• 1 g Ground turmeric
• 2 g Black pepper
• 6 g Salt
• 5 g Sumac, to sprinkle
• 4 Tomatoes, halved
• 15 ml Olive oil
• 350 g Basmati rice
• 30 g Butter
• 0.1 g Saffron, steeped in 2 tbsp hot water
• 10 g Fresh parsley
• 1 Red onions, thinly sliced
• 150 g Greek yoghurt

Method

1. Knead the lamb with the onion, half the steeped saffron, turmeric, pepper and salt for a few minutes until sticky. Chill to firm up.
2. Rinse the rice, then boil it in plenty of salted water until just tender. Drain.
3. Melt the butter in the pan, return the rice, drizzle over the saffron water, cover with a lid wrapped in a tea towel and steam on a low heat.
4. With wet hands, press the meat into long flat sausages around flat skewers, or simply shape into long flat kebabs without skewers.
5. Cook the kebabs on a hot barbecue, griddle or under a hot grill, turning once, until browned and cooked through. Grill the tomatoes brushed with oil alongside.
6. Serve the kebabs on the rice with the tomatoes, sprinkled with sumac, with red onion, parsley and yoghurt alongside.