Iraqi Kebab (Kebab Muluki)
September 13, 2013 • Category: Main Dish
I’d vote this as my favorite Iraqi kebab version; learned about it in Nawal Nasrallah’s outstanding Delights from the Garden of Eden. Made it once in Beirut, using a shortcut, of course (placed an order from the neighborhood kebab house); it is called muluki, which is the word for king in Arabic. It kind of reminds me of a lasagne, Middle Eastern-style; the pan is greased, then lined with really good flatbread (if you can get a hold of fresh tannur or markouk or even a large pita, what a treat~). Then, you assemble it with sliced onions and peppers (fried or fresh), place the kebabs on top, more bread on the kebabs, puncture the bread, a few ladles of homemade tomato sauce.
The casserole can be baked for 20 minutes right at dinner time; piping hot from the oven, the bread all soaked up in sauce; the kebabs moist, slightly crunchy from the raw veggies, this is a highly satisfying meal indeed. In addition, it is open to creative interpretation; it can be prepared in advance and in stages; with the sauce and kebabs, assembly of this dish should not take more than 30 minutes.
INGREDIENTS: 4 to 6 servings
- 1 LB. KEBABS OR MORE (ACCORDING TO YOUR NEEDS)
- 2 OE MORE CUPS OF TOMATO-BASED SAUCE
- 1/4 TBSP OIL TO GREASE PAN
- 3 FLATBREADS OR LARGE PITA OR SMALL PITAS TO LINE PAN AND OVER KEBABS WITH
- 3 OR 4 CUPS OF SLICED VEGGIES (ONIONS, PEPPERS, ETC)
- 1/ CUP CHOPPED PARSLEY OR HERBS
- SEASONING TO TASTE
1. GREASE THE PAN; LINE IT WITH BREAD; PLACE THE KEBABS ON TOP OF THE BREADS. SPRINKLE SLICED VEGGIES ON THE KEBABS; COVER WITH MORE BREAD; PUNCTURE THE BREAD; PREHEAT THE OVEN TO MEDIUM AND INSERT THE PAN ABOUT 15 MINUTES PRIOR TO SERVING TIME; LADLE 3 CUPS OF SAUCE ON THE ENTIRE PAN. SERVE.
NOTE:
One idea is to serve this with a bowl of raw veggies similar to a Mexican salsa, with lots of sliced bell peppers, onions, herbs, tomatoes, etc.
Comments
18 Comments • Comments Feed
Rosa says:
Mouthwatering! This dish looks really tasty.
Cheers,
Rosa
On September 14, 2013 at 2:13 am
Rhéa says:
Yum to say the least.
On September 14, 2013 at 2:36 am
Alicia (foodycat) says:
This sounds so good! What kind of kebabs do you use? Minced meat or cubed meat style?
On September 14, 2013 at 6:11 am
Joumana says:
@alicia: I used minced meat, because I prefer the texture! 🙂
@Tall: A kebab would be open-ended; you can use whatever type of meat or spices you like; say ground beef, or lamb or a combo; in Lebanon, the most common type of kebab would be kafta, which is ground meat (usually beef), mixed with a small chopped onions, a handful of chopped parsley, salt, black pepper, to taste, a dash of allpice, cinnamon and maybe a touch of red chili pepper if you like. There are no set rules; I personally like to add a bit of red pepper paste in my kebabs or roast a couple of red bell peppers, seed them and mash them an add them to the kebab meats while puréeing them in the food processor; let your taste be your guide and experiment with different cuisines; all the cuisines of the regions from Turkey, to the entire Middle-East all the way to Iran cook kebabs with different spices; in Iran, they use a lot of saffron and marinate the meat in lime and yogurt.
On September 14, 2013 at 7:56 am
Tali says:
Can you elaborate on the kebab meat? I have minced meat and also other meats but when you say ‘kebab’ how do you cook it? what spices do you use?
On September 14, 2013 at 9:12 am
Ozlems Turkish Table says:
So very inviting Joumana:) reminds me a little bit of our Iskender kebab, where sliced kebab is served over flat bread topped with tomato sauce and melted butter – would love some now : ) ! Ozlem
On September 14, 2013 at 10:47 am
Belinda @zomppa says:
I’m sold – 30 minutes for a dish that looks like it took hours?
On September 14, 2013 at 4:52 pm
Benedetta says:
Wow it sounds great, I do a similar dish using “pane carasau” a very thin bread from Sardinia. I would like to know if the meat must be cooked before with the spices, thanks
On September 15, 2013 at 1:39 am
Mark Wisecarver says:
Yum! When I make this the Iranian way it’s the way I was shown long ago but I use ground Turkey and add a blend of Iranian style Advieh, which is simply delicious.
btw, make my own advieh with Rose, Cardamon, Cinnamon and Cumin.
On September 15, 2013 at 6:29 am
Asiya @ Chocolate an says:
This sounds delicious! Looking forward to trying it out soon!
On September 15, 2013 at 2:31 pm
Oui, Chef says:
WOW….I am in love…what a great sounding recipe.
On September 15, 2013 at 3:52 pm
mariam says:
looks and sounds so delicious..are the kebabs place in the pan precooked or raw?
On September 15, 2013 at 10:35 pm
Joumana says:
@Mariam: precooked.
@Benedetta: The meat is precooked.
On September 16, 2013 at 2:15 am
Coco in the Kitchen says:
This is fit for a king!
Sounds similar to the Persian tass kabob which has a lot more veggies, but none of the bread, which is a genius idea.
On September 17, 2013 at 10:40 pm
Nuts about food says:
My mouth is watering just reading this!
On September 18, 2013 at 4:24 am
weavethousandflavors says:
Hi Joumana,
What a GORGEOUS way to serve up kababs. I can take simple kababs and turn them into a complete meal! A true life saver for a weeknight meal and fun for when company is over too!
chow! Devaki @ weavethousandflavors
On September 19, 2013 at 6:04 am
Alicia (foodycat) says:
I like the minced meat kebabs too. I will try this!
On September 21, 2013 at 5:30 am