A Beginner's Guide to Persian Kebabs: Koobideh, Joojeh & Chenjeh

Stand in any Iranian city at lunchtime and follow your nose: it will lead you to a charcoal grill. Kebab is Persia’s great culinary export, but the menu names — koobideh, joojeh, chenjeh, barg, vaziri, sultani — can read like a code. Here’s the key.

Koobideh is the heart of it all. Minced lamb is kneaded with grated onion and spices, then pressed by hand along a flat skewer — koobideh comes from the Persian word for “pounded”. Grilled over charcoal, it turns smoky and impossibly juicy. If a Persian restaurant gets koobideh right, you can trust everything else on the menu.

Joojeh is the golden one: chicken marinated in saffron, yogurt and lemon until it takes on the colour of the spice itself. It’s the kebab Iranian families grill on Fridays, and the first thing most people fall in love with. Try our Joojeh Kebab and you’ll see why.

Chenjeh is for the purists — cubes of lamb fillet, marinated simply and grilled fast, so the meat itself is the whole point. And when you can’t choose? That’s what the combination plates are for: Vaziri pairs koobideh with chicken, while Sultani — “fit for a sultan” — pairs it with lamb. Our Chenjeh Sultani is the house showpiece.

Whatever you order, the supporting cast matters: saffron rice, a fire-roasted tomato, fresh herbs, and ideally a Shirazi salad to cut through the richness. Add a glass of doogh — the minty yogurt drink Iranians swear by with grilled meat — and you’re eating exactly as Tehran does.

Ready to take the tour? The full grill is on our menu, or order it to your door through DinePlatform.