This site is in serious danger of becoming a Sadaf-fan-site. But what can I say, they have great products! I love making joojeh kabob because it’s easy, most people like chicken and it tastes great. If you’ve ever had Persian joojeh (chicken breast) kabob before, you know that it has a very distinctive tangy taste to it. It’s traditionally cooked on metal skewers over a grill, but for us city dwellers we have to make do with the oven.
Persian Chicken Kabob (Joojeh Kabob) marinating
Over the last year, I played around with a few different marinade recipes and not only did they not come out right, but they were a real hassle to make. I decided to give the Sadaf Chicken Kabob Seasoning (link) a try – and my chicken came out with the perfect joojeh-kaboby flavor!
Sandra Lee, eat your heart out.
The seasoning (which contains onions, parsley, salt, pepper, citric acid and saffron) is advertised as a dry rub – it’s good this way but chicken can be a bit dry. I’ve found that mixing it with yogurt and turning it into a marinade gives the same flavor but the chicken stays nice and juicy. You could add turmeric to the seasoning mix if you like (will give it more color as well) but I’ve found it’s great the way it is. The seasoning comes in convenient 1-ounce packets, which is exactly the amount needed for 1.5-2 pounds of chicken. Mix it with 1.5 cups of yogurt, slap it into a big ziplock back along with your cubed chicken breast. I let it sit overnight in the fridge and turn it over a few times.
Then pop onto skewers that have soaked in water for 15-20 minutes and stick in the oven about 10-12 minutes each side on 350. Eh, voila! They chicken has a nice yellow-orange color because of the spices and is traditionally served with rice (polo). For a lighter version I like to serve it with my favorite salad of cucumber, tomato, avocado and lime juice.
Persian Chicken Kabob (Joojeh Kabob)
Where can you get it? Kalustyan’s in NYC has this product as well as the whole range of Sadaf’s kabob seasoning (for other types of kabob meats). Amazon also sells it and it’s quite reasonably priced. And of course, sadaf.com as well!
- 1½ - 2 lbs of chicken (you can tell your butcher you want it for kabob and they'll cube it)
- 1 packet Sadaf Chicken Kabob seasoning
- 1 1/12 cups yogurt
- Skewers, soaked in water for at least 20 minutes
- Mix the packet of seasoningwith the yogurt and pour it into a large ziploc bag.
- Add the chicken to the bag and squish it around so the kitchen is evenly coated.
- Put the bag o' chicken into the fridge and let it marinade at least 4-6 hours but ideally overnight.
- When ready to cook, preheat your oven to 350 F.
- Shake off excess marinade and put your chicken onto the moistened skewers.
- Bake for 20-24 minutes, flipping halfway through.
- Serve and enjoy!
Happy eating!
Wow, how easy was that? What a great idea for simple yet delicious dinner! I’m so glad I stumbled upon your blog – it’s amazing! 🙂
Such a great and easy recipe! I have to admit, I was skeptical about the pre-packaged seasoning, but these come out great!