Most people think they’ve had a good kebab until they sit down in Tehran and see a massive pile of butter melting into a mountain of rice. It is actually kind of chaotic how much butter is involved, but that is exactly why it works.
If the rice isn’t fluffy enough to blow away in a light breeze, locals will literally send it back to the kitchen. It is the ultimate comfort food that makes you want to take a three-hour nap immediately after the last bite.
History of Chelo Kebab
Did you know that Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, a Persian king in the 1800s, was so obsessed with this dish that he reportedly had it served to him every single day? He supposedly brought the recipe back from travels in the Caucasus, but he made it way more decadent.
Originally, it wasn’t even a restaurant dish; it was something only royalty and the super-wealthy could afford because of the high cost of saffron and quality meat. Eventually, the first kebab houses opened in the Tabriz region and then spread like wildfire to the Tehran bazaar.
Back in the day, the servers would keep bringing skewers of meat to your table until you literally told them to stop. It was like an endless parade of lamb and beef that defined what Iranian hospitality is all about.
What’s Inside?
The magic starts with long-grain basmati rice, which has to be soaked, parboiled, and steamed until it forms a crunchy golden crust at the bottom called tahdig. That crust is the part everyone fights over at the dinner table.
Then you have the meat, usually Kabab Koobideh, which is ground lamb or beef mixed with nothing but grated onions and black pepper. The onion juice is the secret to making the meat stay juicy while it grills over hot coals.
The finishing touch is always Saffron, which gives the rice that bright yellow glow, and a heavy dusting of Sumac. Sumac is a purple spice that tastes tangy and sour, cutting right through all that heavy fat and butter.
How Iranians actually eat?
The first thing you do is take a raw egg yolk and bury it deep inside the steaming hot rice so it cooks slightly and turns into a creamy sauce. Then you mash in a massive slab of unsalted butter until the rice glistens.
Don’t even think about using a knife; you use the side of your fork to break off pieces of the tender kebab. You also need a side of charred tomatoes that are grilled until the skins turn black and the insides turn into a smoky jam.
To wash it all down, you drink Doogh, which is a salty yogurt drink mixed with dried mint and sometimes bubbles. It sounds weird to outsiders, but it’s the only thing that helps you digest a pound of meat and rice.
