Grill Stall Specialty · Cleaver-Minced Kebab
Bonab Kababi
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The meat isn't run through a grinder at all — it's hand-minced with a heavy cleaver, a slower method many locals insist gives it a texture machine-ground koobideh can't match.
Lamb or beef is chopped fine by hand with a cleaver rather than a meat grinder, seasoned simply, then molded onto flat skewers and grilled over charcoal. Named for the town of Bonab near Tabriz, it's sold at grill stalls throughout East Azerbaijan alongside grilled tomato and flatbread.
Why it's made this way: The hand-mincing technique takes considerably longer than machine grinding, and that extra labor is exactly what Tabrizis point to when explaining why Bonab kababi is prized above ordinary koobideh — the dish was even inscribed on Iran's list of intangible cultural heritage in 2015.
More from Iran
Part of World of Street Food — 3248 dishes from 118 countries.
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