Small cubes of lamb marinated in cumin, sweet paprika, garlic, and olive oil, threaded tightly on thin skewers and flash-grilled at souk stalls. The pieces are cut deliberately small so they char in minutes and are eaten straight off the stick with khobz bread and cumin-salt for dipping.
Also known as: qotban, quotban, kotban, brochettes marocaines, Moroccan brochettes, lahm meshwi Morocco
Watch it made
Ingredients
- 600 g lamb shoulder, in 2 cm cubes
- 45 ml olive oil
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp sweet paprika
- 3 garlic cloves, finely grated
- 15 g flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 15 g fresh coriander, chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 khobz rolls or pita
- 1 tsp cumin + 1 tsp salt, mixed, for dipping
How to make it
- 1
Toss the lamb with olive oil, cumin, paprika, garlic, herbs and salt, working the spices into the meat, then refrigerate 2 hours.
- 2
Thread the cubes snugly onto thin skewers, five or six per stick with no gaps.
- 3
Grill over very hot charcoal 6-8 minutes, giving a quarter turn every 2 minutes, until charred outside and just cooked through.
- 4
Rest 2 minutes, then tuck into khobz with the cumin-salt alongside for dipping.
Pro tip: Keep the cubes at 2 cm — the Marrakech street standard — so every piece grabs char before the centre overcooks.
The story of Qotban
Qotban are the cubed counterpart to Morocco's minced kefta brochettes: small pieces of lamb marinated in cumin, sweet paprika, garlic and olive oil, threaded tightly on thin skewers and flash-grilled at souk stalls. The pieces are cut deliberately small so they char in minutes.
They are eaten straight off the stick with khobz and cumin-salt, and the format is closer to Abruzzo's arrosticini than to a Turkish şiş — many small skewers rather than a few substantial ones. In Marrakech and Fez they are ordered by the handful and grilled continuously.
The technique that defines it
Small pieces threaded tight is the whole method. At around a centimetre and a half, the cubes cook through in the same three or four minutes it takes for the surfaces to char, so there is no gap between the outside being ready and the inside being done — the same logic that governs arrosticini and çöp şiş.
Fat is threaded between the lean pieces, or the cut is chosen with fat running through it, because there is no marinade thick enough to protect meat this small over a fierce fire. The marinade itself is short — an hour or two — and is more a seasoning than a tenderiser.
Choosing your ingredients
Lamb shoulder in one-and-a-half-centimetre cubes with fat included, or lamb with pieces of tail fat threaded between. Thin skewers, several small pieces to each.
Cumin, sweet paprika, garlic, olive oil and salt, with a little cayenne. An hour or two of marinating. Khobz bread and a bowl of cumin-salt for dipping. Harissa on the side for those who want heat.
Mistakes that ruin it
Cubes too large
The dish depends on pieces small enough to cook through as they char. Larger cubes need a different fire and become a şiş.
No fat
Small lean pieces over a fierce fire dry in seconds. Include fat in the cut or thread it between.
A long marinade
An hour or two. The pieces are small and the marinade is seasoning, not tenderising.
Loose threading
Pack them tight so the sides are protected. Gaps expose more surface and dry it out.
How it is served
Several skewers at a time on paper, with khobz, cumin-salt, harissa, and a chopped tomato-and-onion salad. Eaten with the fingers standing at the stall. Mint tea afterwards.
Questions about Qotban
What is the difference between qotban and kefta brochettes?
Qotban are cubes of whole lamb; kefta brochettes are minced meat pressed onto the skewer. Both are Moroccan souk standards and often sold from the same stall.
Why are the pieces cut so small?
So they cook through in the same time the surface takes to char. It is the same logic behind Abruzzo's arrosticini.
How long should they marinate?
An hour or two. The pieces are small and the marinade is there to season, not to tenderise.
What is served with them?
Khobz bread, cumin mixed with salt for dipping, harissa, and a chopped tomato-and-onion salad.
