An old Qajar-era dish of marinated lamb chunks threaded onto small wooden skewers and slowly braised in a pan with onion and tomato instead of grilled. The skewers go into the pot — a kebab in form that cooks like a stew.
Also known as: kabab hosseini, kabab husseini, kabab-e hoseini
Watch it made
Ingredients
- 700 g lamb leg, in 3 cm chunks
- 1 onion, juiced, plus 2 onions, sliced
- 40 g yogurt
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 30 g tomato paste
- 0.2 g saffron, bloomed in 20 ml hot water
- 30 g butter
- 150 ml water
- 8 short wooden skewers, soaked
- 1.5 tsp salt, 0.5 tsp pepper
How to make it
- 1
Marinate the lamb 2 h in onion juice and yogurt, then thread onto the small soaked skewers.
- 2
Brown the loaded skewers on all sides in the butter in a wide saute pan and set aside.
- 3
Soften the sliced onions in the same pan with turmeric, then stir in tomato paste, water, salt and pepper.
- 4
Lay the skewers back in, cover, and braise at a murmur for 60-75 min, turning once, until fork-soft.
- 5
Add the saffron water, reduce uncovered to a clinging sauce, and serve the skewers whole over rice or bread.
Pro tip: Keeping the meat on its skewer through the braise is the Qajar trick; the chunks stay intact and lift out as neat, sauce-glazed batons.
