Kabab Tabei is a delicious dish that you can make if you like to have kebabs but you don't want to use a grill or you don't have one. It's simple and can be ready in an hour with a handful of ingredients!
There are so many delicious Persian recipes that you can make with the ingredients you have at hand. Some of the common Persian recipes are Joojeh Kabab (Persian Saffron Chicken Kebab), Zereshk Polo Morgh - Persian Barberry rice with Chicken, and Persian Split Chickpea Stew - Khoreshte Gheimeh.
That's what I love about Persian food: homey, simple, delicious and full of love!
Kabab Tabei is very simple to make if you know a couple of notes and techniques:
- Meat: Traditionally my maman makes kabab tabei with a mixture of ground beef and lamb, I have made mine with only ground beef and the results are almost identical. It's very important that the ground beef be as lean as possible and contains very little fat.
- Onion: Must be grated and then squeezed very hard so all the excess juice (which we don't need) is out
- Mixing: All the ingredients should be mixed perfectly together and kneaded well. My maman always takes the mixture out of the bowl with her hand and drops it back in the bowl forty times. Works perfect every time!
That's it! If you pay attention to these three key notes, there is no way you can't make this delicious kabab tabei!
I love Persian food because it's very nutritious, always made with fresh and seasonal ingredients and is also simple to make. It tastes like heaven and takes me back to my maman's kitchen back in Tehran where my most beautiful memories were born.
How to make Kabab Tabe i
Grate the onion, squeeze it and discard the excess water. Add in turmeric, salt and black pepper. Mix and knead very well until everything is well combined.
Pour a little olive oil in a large pan and spread the beef mixture at the bottom of the pan using a spatula or simply the tip of your fingers. Divide the beef mixture into kebab pieces 2 inch wide using a spatula.
Place the pan over medium heat and cover the pan with a lid. Once the beef mixture starts releasing its juice, uncover and let the juice evaporate. Using a spatula, flip the kebabs and let the other side cook as well until it's brown. Fry tomatoes in another pan and serve Kabab tabe i and fried tomatoes with some rice.
Well I've also got some news for you! We will be visiting Turkey soon, and my maman and baba will hopefully be there too! That means I'm going to meet my parents soon! I'm so excited and happy because I have some plans for the blog once I see my maman and baba! Stay tuned because you are about to see some good homemade Persian food! And well, maybe some Turkish food, too!
More ground beef recipes:
Tools and ingredients to make Kabab Tabei
Step-by-Step Recipe
Kabab Tabei - Persian Pan Kebab
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef 93% lean is the best
- 1 medium onion
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 to matoes cut into quarters
Instructions
- Grate the onion and squeeze fully so the juice is all out. Discard the juice.
- Put ground beef in a bowl, add grated onion and spiced to it. Mix and knead very well.*
- Coat the bottom of a pan using one tablespoon olive oil.
- Spread the beef mixture in the pan using a spatula or just your hands.
- Using a spatula, divide the mixture into strips.
- Place the pan on medium heat and cover with a lid.
- When it starts to release its juice, uncover and let the juice evaporate.
- Flip the kebabs using a spatula and let the other side brown, too.
- In a small pan, heat some olive oil and fry the tomatoes.
- Serve with white and saffron rice.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Benjamin F Keil
This was truly delicious. I also used ground turkey, and I pureed the onion because I'm too lazy to grate it. I plated the kebab with some quinoa and cherries, and I think it was one of the best meals I've ever served!
Rani
I made this today with ground turkey and it is excellent!! I questioned whether something with so few ingredients could be *so* tasty and it really is very delicious. This will be my go-to kebab recipe going forward (I don't know if I'm using the term "kebab" correctly...). Thank you very much for sharing!
Shadi HasanzadeNemati
Hi Rani! Yes, you're using the term correctly! Glad you love this recipe, it's our favorite too!
Cookilicious
Wow they look delicious! I would love to try a vegetarian version of this
Emily Liao
This persian kebab was the perfect weeknight dinner! The flavors were great and paired perfectly with rice and grilled veggies 🙂
Nart at Cooking with Nart
I love kabab so much but I'm not an expert in Persian food. Anyway, I tried your recipe and it turned out amazing!!!
Cathleen
Wow, I was expecting this recipe to have a lot more ingredients. I seriously need to make this!!! Pinned for later 😉
Biana
I love making kebabs, and your recipe is so simple! I am looking forward to making them soon.
KABIR
Nice kabab
Lise - Mom Loves Baking
I used to work for a Persian man who owned a mega yacht. He loved rice cooked with a brown and crispy crust. It was delicious. This recipe looks yummy as well!
unicornsinthekitchen@gmail.com
Tahdig - The crispy crust is every Iranian's favorite! It's really delicious! Thanks Lise! <3
Lane & Holly @ With Two Spoons
I DO love how homey Persian food is! So full of love 🙂
unicornsinthekitchen@gmail.com
That's why I'm all about Persian food, it's so full of love <3 <3
Hadia
I enjoyed watching the video of your "KABAB TABei"! They do look so good! And I so love the Persian saffron rice!
unicornsinthekitchen@gmail.com
Hi Hadia! Thank you! Saffron rice is my favorite too!
Swayam
Awesome,! I love that your mom used to knead the mince so well.. As u know we Indians have kebabs in our genes too and I totally get how important the mince us. Looks gorgeous and yay.. So good u will b seeing ur folks soon! Can't wait for more "maman " treasures like this one 🙂
unicornsinthekitchen@gmail.com
You have no idea how much I love love love Indian cuisine! The first time I was in the US and we tried Indian food I was like, oh my God this tastes like home!! The spices, the aroma, everything about it is so super delicious! I also would love to try your Indian recipes!! More "maman" recipes will come up! 😀
Jenny
I had kebab for the first and only time a few years ago when I was in Europe. I LOVED it and have thought about it several times since - I can't wait to try your recipe and hear more about your future trip to Turkey!!
unicornsinthekitchen@gmail.com
Thank you Jenny! You will love this kebab too and you'll see it's just so easy! I will definitely post about the trip to Turkey and hopefully there will be some nice surprises!
Farida
I used to go Iranian restaurants a lot , when I was living in the Arabic gulf. Love this easy kebab, looks so good 🙂
unicornsinthekitchen@gmail.com
So you know how delicious Iranian food is Farida 😀 Glad you like the recipe! 🙂
Tania @ COOKTORIA
This pan kebab loos fantastic, Shadi! I don't think I ever tried Persian cuisine before, and now you gave me a reason to do so!
Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe!
unicornsinthekitchen@gmail.com
Of course Tania! I'm happy you like it! Persian cuisine might seem intimidating at first but once you start making some Persian food, it will be so easy! And delicious!