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Do you say Kebab or Kabob? We Persians say Kabob, where the first vowel, the letter “a”  is pronounced /æ/ and the second vowel, the letter “o” is pronounced /α/. You say WHAT??? Oh that’s what I said the first time I was introduced to this stuff.  If you were a linguist you would spell kabob as such /kæbαb/. Isn’t that cool? No? Bummer, it was  fun -at times! The truth is that I got beat over the head with this lovely linguistics stuff in grad school left and right.  So here I am today putting to work what I  learned!!

In simple words what I mean is that the “a” in kabob sounds the same as the “a” in the word “cat” and the “o” sounds just like in the name “Bob.”

Anyway. Ever wonder why Persian Chicken Kabob is deliciously flavorful? Or where it gets its golden color? Well my friends today is your lucky day because I have answers to such questions.  And what do you know, 4th of July is right around the corner and here is yet another option to throw on the grill.

First things first. The most important element in making Persian Chicken Kabob is the marinade.  I personally like to marinade mine overnight.

There are a couple of different ways to marinade chicken. Today’s recipe will feature a nice and easy way using one of my favorite products.  I love, love, love Sadaf’s Chicken Kabob Seasoning.  This seasoning comes especially handy when you are BBQing for a group, because all you have to do is just empty the bag instead of measuring your spices.

You can either use this seasoning on its own or mix it with yogurt. I personally like  the addition of yogurt. It tastes much better and adds moisture to your chicken.

So, lets get this marinading business started!

3 lb of chicken (for this recipe I used boneless and skinless thighs)

3 cups of yogurt

1 onion (I personally prefer red onions, but you can use any type your little heart desires)

1 package of Sadaf Chicken Seasoning

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Wash chicken and pat dry.

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You can either slice or grate the onion. I personally like to slice half and the other half I cut into three parts.  I love grilling red tomatoes, they taste so good.

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Place yogurt in a large mixing bowl. Empty the content of the seasoning bag on top.

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Mix well to incorporate yogurt and seasoning.

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Place onion and chicken in the bowl.

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Mix well until onion and chicken are both well covered with the marinade.

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Place everything in a ziplog bag. Place in the fridge overnight turning over a couple of times.

Tomorrow I will post Part 2 of Jujeh Kabob where I show you how to cook it.  Stay tuned!