Joojeh Kabab

I had taken out a whole chicken to defrost one day but had no idea what to make with it. I just figured I will get inspired by the time the chicken thawed out. And indeed, I was; thanks in part to Jade's recent obsession with Persian Food. She has taken a particular liking to koobideh, I think because she likes how the word rolls off her tongue but she also just likes the flavor of grilled lamb. I didn't have lamb on hand though, all I had was this chicken staring at be begging to be cooked in any other way other than adobo and fried. So we decided to grill it and also try thi Joojeh Kabab recipe. We made a few modifications though since as usual, we were pressed for time and didn't have time to marinade the full 24-hours. Here is our method for joojeh kabab, which turned out wonderfully, by the way.

INGREDIENTS:
1 whole chicken cut into pieces
1/4 cup olive oil
2 large onions, grated (we processed ours in the automatic chopper to save our eyes)
1/2 teaspoon safron
Salt & Pepper

After washing and cutting the chicken, I placed them in a large pot and added the rest of the ingredients. Since I was again doing my last to the minute cooking and didn't have time for the 24 marinade or slow roasting on the grill, I decided to try the quick grill method. Pre-cook the chicken in the marinade. Bring the chicken and marinade to a boil while preparing the grill and lighting the charcoals. This grilling part is one we prefer not to take short cuts on. We always use charcoals instead of the electric grill. It also helps that we don't have an electric grill so we really don't have a choice but cook everything over coals ;-). By the time the grill is cleaned and the charcoals are ready for cooking, the chicken should be cooked through. Grill the chicken just until they are browned, marinating with some of the cooking juices. I reserved about a cup of the cooking liquid which served as gravy over the chicken during the meal.

These were served with grilled tomatoes, onions and jalapeno peppers and buttered rice (Recipe follows).