Koobideh Meatballs with Minty Yogurt

Name: Koobideh Meatballs with Minty Yogurt
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h
Cuisine: Tanzania
Ingredients: ¼ teaspoon saffron threads, optional; 1 tablespoon hot water, optional; 2 medium yellow onions, peeled, divided; 1 egg, beaten; 2½ teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt, divided; ½ teaspoon sumac; ⅛ teaspoon ground turmeric; 2 pints (580 g) cherry tomatoes; 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for serving; ⅔ cup (75 ml) plain whole-milk yogurt*; 2 sprigs mint,* leaves finely chopped, plus more torn whole leaves, for serving; Freshly cracked black pepper; 2 tablespoons salted butter, melted; Cooked basmati rice, for serving; plain breadcrumbs, use panko breadcrumbs, crushed to a finer texture between your fingertips; plain breadcrumbs, use panko breadcrumbs, crushed to a finer texture between your fingertips; Ground beef, use ground turkey or ground chicken (the texture may be slightly less tender); Ground beef, use ground turkey or ground chicken (the texture may be slightly less tender); Ground beef, use ground turkey or ground chicken (the texture may be slightly less tender); Whole-milk yogurt, use Greek yogurt plus 1 to 2 tablespoons water; Whole-milk yogurt, use Greek yogurt plus 1 to 2 tablespoons water; Whole-milk yogurt, use Greek yogurt plus 1 to 2 tablespoons water; Mint, use dill; Mint, use dill

Preparation info

Serves
4 to 6

Difficulty
Easy
Ready in
1 hr

Appears in

Third Culture Cooking

By Zaynab Issa

Published 2025

About

Koobideh is a flavorful, bouncy, grilled Persian kebab usually served alongside grilled tomatoes and onions, rice, and a simple yogurt sauce. Between the traditional shaping and grilling of the kebabs, making koobideh is quite an involved process. It’s certainly not something you can’t do, just something I couldn’t do on a weeknight, which is usually when I’m craving this comforting meal. In actuality, kebabs aren’t all that different from meatballs, and by flavoring the panade (a French te

Ingredients

Sub-Saharan Africa
Tanzania
Main course
Vegetarian
Gluten-free

Ingredients

Method