Joojeh kabob is a flavorful grilled meal of chicken in saffron marinade. Make this Persian chicken kabob recipe for a fantastic summer dinner!

If you enjoy grilling in the summer, there are some fantastic Iranian recipes to cook on the grill! 

For lovers of lamb or beef, make koobideh kabobs and serve them with Persian sides of lubia polo and cucumber yogurt salad. 

If you prefer fish, make some sea bass, blackened mahi mahi, or salmon on the grill. Although it isn’t Iranian, I think Thai mango salad is the perfect side dish for grilled fish!

There are countless ways to cook chicken on the grill. In fact, you could probably make a different recipe every night for the entire summer. 

Kabob recipes are my favorite, especially when the food is as beautiful as it is delicious. This describes a Persian chicken kabob recipe known as Joojeh (also spelled jujeh) perfectly! 

What is Joojeh Kabob?

This dish features boneless chicken breast or tenders, cut into bite sized pieces and threaded onto skewers for grilling. Before it’s cooked, the poultry is seasoned in an absolutely delicious saffron marinade, which gives the meat a gorgeous golden hue!

Chicken Marinade Ingredients

Most of the ingredients for the chicken kabob marinade are basic kitchen staples. You may already have some, or even all of these on hand. Some ingredient substitutions are also included below.

• plain flavored yogurt– any variety of milk or non-dairy yogurt is fine
  
• onion– yellow or white onion. You’ll need to finely grate the onion, so you’ll also need a box grater or food processor fitted with a grating blade. I also recommend onion goggles or plenty of tissues to wipe tears away from your eyes. 😉
   
• garlic– either fresh cloves or a jar of minced
  
• fresh flat-leaf parsley
  
• sumac– this spice has a tart, slightly acidic flavor. Good substitutes are zaatar, lemon zest, or in a pinch, lemon pepper seasoning
  
• saffron threads– you’ll need 1/4 teaspoon of threads to grind up in a mortar and pestle. 20 to 30 threads should do the trick. There really isn’t a perfect substitute for the flavor of saffron but turmeric does have a similar golden yellow color, so it can be used if you can’t get saffron.
  
• kosher salt and black pepper

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Tips For Making Persian Chicken Kabob

Important Note

Please be careful when you’re handling raw meat or poultry. Otherwise, bacteria in the meat can cross contaminate onto counters, plates/utensils, and even other foods. If consumed, the bacteria can make you very sick.

To prevent this from happening, please use these food safety guidelines when handling raw meat. 

Also, never reuse marinades after they’ve had raw meat or poultry in them. More importantly, don’t use them as a dipping sauce or glaze. The only way to safely use a marinade for a dipping sauce is to first bring it to a full rolling boil for at least 2 minutes.

Recipe Tips and Notes

1. Don’t pack the skewers too full.
   Be sure to leave a little space between each piece of meat. Otherwise, you may have pieces that don’t cook completely.
   
2. Thoroughly preheat the grill, then brush the cooking rack/grate with oil or cooking spray.

3. Cook kabobs to an internal temperature of 165°F.
   
   After removing the saffron chicken skewers from the grill, the meat will continue to cook for a couple of minutes. (The culinary term is carryover cooking). Because of this, you can remove them from the heat when the internal temperature of the meat reaches 163°F

Serving Suggestions for Joojeh Kabob

There are two options for serving a joojeh kabob; either on or off of the skewers. 

The option you choose will likely depend on who you’re serving the meal to. Keep in mind that metal cooking skewers will be very hot, and it can take quite a while for them to cool down. Younger children might have an easier time if the meat is taken off of the skewers.

This meal is delicious with some warm zaatar bread or Persian barbari bread. A side of vegetable couscous cakes is a good option, as are cauliflower fritters and feta salad.