Not the South Asian dish of the same name: Iraqi tikka is chunks of lamb (classically alternating with cubes of pure tail fat, liyya) threaded on skewers and grilled over charcoal, usually with only salt so the meat and smoke do the talking. It is the standard companion to minced Iraqi kebab on any mixed grill in Baghdad or Mosul.
Also known as: tikka iraqi, tikka laham, lahm tikka, tika kebab, tikka kabab iraqi
Watch it made
Ingredients
- 700 g lamb leg or shoulder, in 3 cm cubes
- 200 g lamb tail fat (liyya), in 2 cm cubes
- 1 onion, grated and squeezed for its juice
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- khubz or tanoor bread
- 1 onion, sliced, tossed with 1 tsp sumac
- amba or pickles, to serve
How to make it
- 1
Slick the lamb with the onion juice, salt and pepper and let it sit 4 hours.
- 2
Load wide flat skewers in a rhythm of two lamb cubes to one cube of liyya, repeating to the tip.
- 3
Grill over ashed-over charcoal 8-10 minutes, turning as each face browns; the fat cubes should turn translucent with golden corners.
- 4
Lay the bread on a platter, rest the skewers on it 3 minutes, then strip the meat off over the bread.
- 5
Serve on that same juice-soaked khubz with sumac onions and amba.
Pro tip: The bread underneath is not garnish — Baghdad tikka houses count the drip-soaked khubz as the best bite of the meal.
