🍢 Kabab barg

Name: Kabab barg
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Iran
Ingredients: 800 g lamb fillet (or tenderloin); 2 onions, grated, juice only; ½ tsp saffron threads, ground and steeped in 3 tbsp hot water; 3 tbsp olive oil; Salt and black pepper; 400 g basmati rice; 30 g butter; 4 tomatoes for grilling; Sumac to serve

Origin: Iran

780kcal

per serving · 400 g

195kcal

per 100 g

52 gProtein13 g / 100 g

34 gFat8.5 g / 100 g

72 gCarbs18 g / 100 g

Kabab barg is a Persian kebab of thin, flattened strips of lamb fillet marinated in grated onion and saffron, then grilled quickly over hot charcoal. The meat stays tender and juicy with a delicate saffron aroma. It is served on a bed of fluffy buttered basmati rice, usually with grilled tomatoes and a sprinkle of sumac, and is one of the most prized dishes on an Iranian restaurant menu.

Diets

✓

No porkfor halal, the meat must be halal-slaughtered

✓

Gluten-freeno wheat, barley or rye in a typical recipe

✓

High protein13 g protein per 100 g — 27% of the calories

Not vegetarianbecause of: lamb fillet

Not veganbecause of: lamb fillet, butter

Contains dairybecause of: butter

Not keto18 g carbs per 100 g

Allergens

Contains (in a typical recipe):

⚠ Milk

What it is made of

lamb filletonionsaffronolive oilbasmati ricebutter

Recipe

4 servings60 min

Ingredients

800 g lamb fillet (or tenderloin)
2 onions, grated, juice only
½ tsp saffron threads, ground and steeped in 3 tbsp hot water
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt and black pepper
400 g basmati rice
30 g butter
4 tomatoes for grilling
Sumac to serve

Method

Cut the lamb into long strips about 1 cm thick and pound them gently to flatten.
Mix the onion juice, half the saffron water, olive oil, salt and pepper, coat the meat and marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight in the fridge.
Rinse the rice, boil it in salted water for 6–7 minutes, drain, then steam it covered on low heat with the butter and the rest of the saffron water for 30 minutes.
Thread the meat onto wide flat skewers and grill over very hot charcoal or a grill pan for 2–3 minutes per side, along with the tomatoes.
Serve the kebabs on the saffron rice with the grilled tomatoes and a sprinkle of sumac.

How to make it lighter

Rice and butter add most of the calories: a smaller mound of rice and a side salad lighten the plate.
Steam the rice with half the butter; butter is about 7 kcal per gram.
Brush the meat with marinade instead of extra oil while grilling.

History

'Barg' means 'leaf' in Persian, referring to the thin, leaf-like strips of meat. Kabab barg is a classic of Iranian kebab houses, often served as part of 'chelow kabab', rice with kebab, which is widely regarded as a national dish of Iran.

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Similar dishes

Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →