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San Diego is a great place to find so many ethnic restaurants to eat at. International travelers often flock to the beach to take in various sites along the coastline where the local fare is a mix of local Mexican taco shops to something a bit upscale in La Jolla or coastal communities further north. Others might take in the small town feel of San Diego’s Gaslamp District where nearly every ethnic option is possible. For me, it was there in Gaslamp, that the Bandar Restaurant grew my love for juicy, flavorful chicken kabobs, saffron rice, and grilled veggies.

The two absolute best things about this plate was that it for one, big! It would easily appease my then college student appetite in one sitting. And, two, it made the best leftovers! I salivate just thinking about that white styrofoam box that I’d pull out of the refrigerator, ready to get my second helping of those tender chicken kabobs and rice. The juices from the chicken perfectly flavored the rice that was stored in the refrigerator. And, the lingering smell of taking it out of the microwave (reheated on a plate, of course) at work notified everyone in the office someone was eating Bandar!

Now, I do have to note, the recipe I am sharing below is only for my low-carb saffron rice. I found a perfectly tasty and authentic recipe for the saffron-spiced kabobs and veggies from Homa of PersianMama.com, with a couple recommendations I’d like to share in the handful of times I’ve used her recipe. See my suggestions below.

I do not find it necessary to grind the saffron threads to a powder, using either a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle. I find that marinading the meat and quartered or halved onions in whole saffron threads (about three pinches of it) works just as well. I just stir the meat mixture once a day prior to grilling so that the yellow saffron and lemon mixture is thoroughly combined with the meat and onions.
I would recommend marinating the meat and onions for a full two days. I’ve marinated this in just one day, and the flavor is so much better the longer you marinate it!
Instead of using olive oil in the marinade, I recommend using avocado oil. Using olive on high heat during grilling becomes carcinogenic.

My Search for Saffron Rice Recipes
In my search for saffron rice recipes for the this dish, I found several common denominators among those with the best reviews. Many of the recipes called for cooking the rice in broth, along with onions (good for caramelizing a sweet flavor) and a little bit of butter. This adds flavor to the rice before a saffron mixture is poured over it. Some recipes do, however, add this saffron mixture right into the rice so that it takes on the classic saffron yellow color after the red saffron threads have been steeped in a hot liquid.

To be honest, I was a little bummed some of these ingredients were used in the process of cooking the rice. I mean of course adding these ingredients to a regular rice dish would make them taste great, but cauliflower and shirataki rice substitutes are not grains so cooking them requires a different process. It requires cooking the water off rather than hydrating them with a broth or water.

At first, I thought it would be hard to integrate more liquid into one of these substitute options. Frozen cauliflower rice is already going to release water after it warms up so using fresh cauliflower may be the best option, which I haven’t actually tried yet. (We keep a lot of fresh vegetables in our refrigerator, but cauliflower in our house tends to be of the frozen form.) And, while shirataki rice can take on the flavor of other items you cook it with, it just doesn’t really have a fluffy texture as a good cauliflower rice that has evaporated all the water off so I have attempted to mix the two when making this saffron rice recipe. I’ll update this post once I do, though! I’ve just leave it up to you, if you wish to try using a combination of the cauliflower rice and shirataki rice, which would give you a reduced net carb count.

For the sake of making this saffron ‘cauli’ rice, I prefer to cook off as much of the water in the frozen cauliflower as I can and add 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon of Himalayan pink salt, and 3/4 tablespoon butter or a butter substitute, such as ghee or butter-flavored coconut oil. I tend to use the butter-flavored coconut oil myself. You can also add 1/2 cup chopped onions to this rice mixture, if you wish. (If I add the onions, I tend to sauté them first before I cook the cauliflower in the same medium-sized sauce pan.)

Then, I prepare the saffron liquid mixture separately so I can pour it over the rice just before serving this dish. I think this gives the rice a nice colorful contrast when plated than incorporating the saffron mixture throughout the cauliflower rice.

Now, onto this recipe… If you get a chance to make it, please feel free to share how it went or if you have any suggestions. I always appreciate the feedback!

Persian Kabobs + Saffron ‘Cauli’ Rice

0 from 0 votes

Recipe by J. Irish, Ketolicious Eats Course: DinnerCuisine: PersianDifficulty: Easy

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Meat marinade time

2 days

Enjoy a traditional Persian Joojeh Kabobs plate, using my low-carb remake of saffron rice and an authentic kabob and veggie recipe from PersianMama.com. You’ll find this to be a tasty way to make the chicken kabobs and grilled vegetables right on your own outdoor grill (instructions included in the linked recipe) or inside your home, using a grated cast iron skillet with a top like I use in my home, with supplies and grilling instructions below.

Approximate macros, using PersianMama.com’s recipe (with veggies 4 small tomatoes on the vine, 1-1/2 onion, and 12 mini peppers) and a 6-oz serving of Saffron ‘Cauli’ Rice: 487 calories; 28.6g protein; 17.7g net carbs; and 20g fat. The net carbs can be reduced by replacing half the amount of cauliflower rice used for shirataki rice and eating fewer grilled tomatoes.

Ingredients + indoor cooking Supplies

Kabob & Grilled Veggie Supplies (Use if Grilling Indoors)
12 12 8″ stainless steel skewers to use in the above 10.5″ skillet
1 1 10.5″ grated cast-iron skillet with tempered glass top–I bought my skillet at Target for roughly $20 and bought the top on Amazon, but you may find the skillet at Home Goods for less.
Cauliflower Rice
24 ounces 24 frozen cauliflower rice (fresh may also be used) or a combination of half shirataki rice and half cauliflower rice for fewer net carbs. (One serving of shirataki rice comes in a 7 or 8 oz bag, depending on the brand.)
3/4 tablespoon 3/4 grass-fed butter, ghee, or butter-flavored coconut oil–I tend to use the ghee or butter-flavored coconut oil that I buy through a Thrive Market – Deeplink” target=”_blank”>Thrive Market membership where you can get dry groceries (and meats) delivered to your door.
1/2 teaspoon 1/2 Himalayan pink salt
1/4 teaspoon 1/4 black pepper
1/2 cup 1/2 onions, diced (optional)
non-GMO, non irradiated ground Sumac (optional)
Saffron Sauce Mixture
1/4 cup 1/4 boiling hot filtered water
1/8 cup 1/8 free-range chicken broth or bone broth
3/4 tablespoon 3/4 grass-fed butter, ghee, or butter-flavored coconut oil
3/4 teaspoon 3/4 onion powder
1/4 teaspoon 1/4 Himalayan pink salt
1/4 teaspoon 1/4 garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon 1/8 saffron threads (or three pinches of saffron threads per 1/8 teaspoon)
1/8 teaspoon 1/8 turmeric

Directions

Cauliflower Rice
In a medium sauce pan, sauté onions (optional) with a small amount of avocado oil on medium heat for five minutes. If not sautéing onions, no oil is needed.
Add the frozen cauliflower rice to the above sauce pan. Cook frozen packages of cauliflower rice on medium or medium low uncovered for about 20 to 30 minutes to cook off excess water. Turn heat down to low when warm.
Add the butter, ghee or butter-flavored coconut oil, black pepper, and pink salt, and mix well.
Keep the rice mixture warm by either continuing to leave on low heat, stirring occasionally, or remove from heat and cover.
Saffron Sauce Mixture
Boil water in a tea pot. When it’s ready to use, pour 1/4 cup of it into a small glass jar or salad dressing jar, using a funnel. This is for your saffron sauce mixture.
Add the whole saffron threads, and allow to steep for five minutes.
Now, add the chicken broth and butter, ghee or butter-flavored coconut oil to the hot water so that it melts down. Then mix well.
Next, add the onion powder, garlic and onion powders, turmeric, and pink salt, and mix well.
When your meal is near complete, pour this saffron mixture over the center of your plated cauliflower rice (or cauliflower-shirataki rice blend).
If you end up having leftovers, refrigerate the sauce mixture, and reheat it by making a hot-water bath in a small bowl. Immerse in the hot water the saffron sauce mixture that you have stored in the glass container. Keep in the hot bath until any all the oils melt down, and stir together any spices sitting at the bottom of the jar.
Grilling the Chicken + Veggie Skewers Indoors with a Grated Cast Iron Skillet
After putting the veggies (largely cut fresh tomato, bell peppers, and onions) on about half the stainless steel skewers and then separately the marinated meat and quartered onions on the remaining skewers, heat up your cast iron skillet on medium-high heat. Once the skillet nearly begins to smoke with heat (no oil is added), you are ready to begin grilling.
Once the skillet is hot, start grilling the vegetable skewers first. Turn each skewer every 2 to 3 minutes, using a set of tongs. The vegetables should be browned and tender before transferring them to a plate until you are ready to plate the whole meal onto serving plates.
Once all the veggie skewers have been grilled and set on to a plate, begin grilling your chicken and onion skewers. I find that it’s easier to cook the meat through by covering the meat for about 2 minutes before removing the top, and then grilling for another 2 minutes, carefully turning the skewers so you have at least two of the sides browned.

It is often a good idea to check that your meat is cooked through by using a thermometer or pulling a piece of meat off one of the skewers and cutting into it to see if the meat is still gray or pinkish. It’s best not to overcook the meat, and it may take a few tries to get it right. Chicken breasts can often become too dry if grilled too long.
As the meat is cooked and look to be browned on two sides, transfer to a plate and continue grilling the remaining meat and onion skewers.
Once all the meat is done, plate the veggies, cauliflower rice and meat skewers. Then pour about 1 tablespoon of saffron sauce mixture over the center of the ‘cauli’ rice. Then serve and enjoy! You may garnish with cilantro and sumac, if desired.