Gerashi Yogurt Kebab

The cubes are spread on a cloth to dry before the yogurt goes on, and then marinated for at least a day.

Veal, Lamb. Not vegetarian — contains lamb, veal.

Ingredients

• 1.2 kg loin of goat, lamb or veal, in 2 cm cubes
• 400 g strained yogurt
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons ground black pepper

Method

1. THE CUBES ARE SPREAD ON A CLOTH TO DRY BEFORE THE YOGURT GOES ON, AND THEN MARINATED FOR AT LEAST A DAY. Its article describes this step on its own and explains why: the meat is laid out on a cotton cloth for a while so that surface moisture can drain away, and gives the reason: the meat then takes up the yogurt marinade more effectively. Half an hour in a single layer on a tea towel is enough to see it work -- the cloth darkens and the meat goes matt. Wet meat has a film of its own liquid between it and the marinade, and the yogurt slides off it instead of gripping.
2. THE CUBES ARE SMALL AND THE ARTICLE IS SPECIFIC ABOUT THE SIZE. Each piece about four times the size of a sugar cube, which is roughly two centimetres. Small enough that a day in yogurt reaches the middle, which is the whole mechanism of the dish.
3. IT IS STRAINED YOGURT, NOT PLAIN. Thick enough to hold its shape on a spoon. Runny yogurt dilutes with the meat juices into a thin wash that neither clings nor tenderises.
4. THE MARINADE IS FOUR THINGS AND IT IS MIXED BY HAND. Strained yogurt, chopped onion, salt, black pepper. Its article says the meat is combined with it thoroughly by hand until every piece is evenly coated -- by hand because a spoon leaves bare faces, and a bare face does not tenderise.
5. TWENTY-FOUR HOURS IS THE FLOOR, NOT THE TARGET. Its article notes the time varies with local practice and the season and that at least a day is usual. This is the longest marinade of any kebab on these pages, and it is doing real work: yogurt's acidity is mild enough that a day does not turn the meat chalky the way a lemon marinade would.
6. THE MEAT CAN BE GOAT, LAMB, CAMEL OR VEAL, AND IT IS LOIN. Its article lists all four. Loin is lean, which is why it needs the yogurt; this is not a fatty kebab.
7. CHARCOAL, AND THE YOGURT IS NOT WIPED OFF. Thread the cubes close but not touching, leave the coating on them, and grill over moderate charcoal for eight to ten minutes. The yogurt dries to a pale speckled crust that browns in patches rather than evenly, which is what this kebab looks like.
8. IT IS A WEDDING DISH AND NOT A FUNERAL ONE. Its article is unusually full on the custom: it places the dish in Gerash and Lar in Fars and parts of Hormozgan, it was the principal meal on at least one night of a wedding, the meat was once got by hunting gazelle in a custom called Eshkali, and it is specifically not prepared for mourning ceremonies.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Iran · All recipes