Jegar is lamb liver, cut into thumb-sized pieces, threaded onto skewers and grilled hard and fast over glowing coals. It carries no marinade — the liver is salted only after it comes off the fire and finished with a squeeze of fresh lime, sometimes a scatter of basil. This is street-and-stall food, eaten standing at the jegaraki (the liver griller's stand) or as the opening round before the meat kebabs arrive. Cooked right, it is browned outside and still rosy within; cooked a minute too long, it turns to chalk. It is one of the cheapest and most beloved grill snacks in Iran.
Skewered liver belongs to the wider tradition of offal grilling that runs across Iran and the surrounding region, where the jegaraki stall — a griller specializing in liver, heart and kidney — is a fixture of bazaars and roadside stops. Lamb being the dominant meat, lamb liver is the standard; the appeal is freshness and price rather than any documented courtly origin. Because liver spoils and toughens quickly, the dish rewards the stall that grills it the same day it is butchered, which is why it is eaten where it is cooked rather than carried home.
Hot off the skewer, the edges are crisp and browned while the center stays soft and faintly bloody, the iron-rich liver flavor cut clean by lime and salt. There is no marinade to hide behind — you taste liver, char, and citrus, nothing else. A torn leaf of basil and a wedge of raw onion sharpen each bite. The texture is the whole gamble: tender and yielding if pulled in time, dry and grainy if left a moment too long.
Liver is lean and full of water, so it must hit fierce heat briefly: a hot bed of embers browns the surface fast while the inside is still just set, before the proteins squeeze out their moisture and seize. Salting only after grilling is deliberate — salt draws water to the surface and would steam rather than sear the liver if added beforehand. The lime at the end both seasons and tempers the strong mineral note.
Variations
Often grilled alongside lamb fat (donbalan) threaded between the pieces to baste them; some stalls alternate liver with chunks of heart and kidney on the same skewer; in the south it may be dusted with chili.
On the Palate
Where Jegar sits in the Persian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 2How it's made
7 steps · 15 min
- 18 min
Trim the lamb liver and cut into thumb-sized cubes, removing any membrane.
- 25 min
Thread the pieces onto skewers, leaving small gaps, sometimes with bits of tail fat between them.
- 310 min
Build a hot charcoal bed and fan the coals to glowing embers.
- 46 min
Lay the skewers over the fire and grill fast, turning frequently.
Watch outGrill fast over glowing embers, turning often, and pull the liver while the centers are still rosy — cook it through and the proteins squeeze out the moisture and seize tough.
- 51 min
Pull the liver while the centers are still rosy, before they dry.
- 62 min
Salt generously off the heat and squeeze fresh lime over the pieces.
Watch outSalt only after grilling — salted beforehand it draws water to the surface and steams instead of searing.
- 72 min
Scatter torn basil and serve at once with raw onion and flatbread.
Archive tool suggestions — not reviewed
These legacy suggestions have not been evidence-reviewed and are not presented as required tools.
