Easy Persian Beef Kabobs & Rice

For the rice:
Boil water in a large pot and add plenty of salt (just as you would if you were cooking pasta) and add the rinsed rice. Put stove on medium-high heat. Don’t let it over-cook. When the rice is just hard in the middle and soft on the outside (according to al dente instructions on the package), turn off the burner and drain the rice into a colander.

Add olive oil into the large pot and make sure the bottom is covered. Put it on medium heat. Add the rice into the pot, poke some holes in the rice with the back of a spatula almost to the bottom of the pot to release steam and cover. When steam rises to the lid of the pot (this is easy to tell with a clear lid, otherwise wait about 5 minutes) remove the lid and drizzle the melted butter/olive oil along with most of the saffron-water mixture over the top (the small remainder will be added to the chicken).

Replace the lid with a large folded napkin or kitchen towel placed directly under it. Tighten the lid. The towel underneath it will catch the steam. After about 5 minutes, turn heat to medium-low and heat for about 30 minutes or until the pot sizzles when you splash a couple drops of water on the side of it, whichever happens last. Remove from heat.

At this point you can either carefully flip the rice out of the pot onto a serving platter so that you can see the beautifully crisp tahdig (crispy rice at the bottom of the pot) or just serve yourself directly out of the pot. If you serve from the pot, make sure to dig for some tahdig at the bottom! It’s a treat!

For the kabobs:
Combine beef, pureed onion, salt, pepper, and turmeric (optional) in a bowl.

In a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat, heat half of the olive oil and spread it around the pan. Add the beef mixture and spread it out to form a flat ½ inch thick layer. Using your spatula you can form the beef into long patties like I did in the pictures.

Cook for about 2 minutes per side or until browned and cooked through. Alternately, you can cook the beef mixture on low-medium heat with a lid on and after it’s cooked through, remove the lid and use your spatula to cut the beef into long patties then flip them over to sear the other side without the lid. You can increase the heat a bit to get a better sear.

Once the beef is almost done, add a bit more oil if needed, turn to medium-high heat, and place tomatoes (cut side down) onto the pan to sear for a couple minutes per side. Remove from heat and serve with the basmati rice.

Persians always have sumac with this dish. You just throw a pinch right on top of the food. For extra love, add a slice of butter to the rice on your plate and fold it in. Also, if you like this idea, put a wedge of onion on your plate and bite a piece of it with your food. It helps take the food down and it gives a nice crunch as well as heat. It’s Persian food so you might as well do it the Persian way, right? Shallot yogurt is also commonly an accompaniment for this dish and that is photographed alongside the dish above. Stay tuned for that super simple recipe next! Noushe-jaan (nourishment for your soul)!