Left to right: Chenjeh Kabab, Kabab Koobideh, Jujeh Kabab in an Afghan restaurant.
Slicing döner kebab off a rotating vertical spit.
(also transliterated as
kabab,
kabob,
kibob,
kebhav,
kephav) refers to a variety of meat dishes in
Middle Eastern,
Mediterranean,
African,
Central Asian, and
South Asian cuisines, consisting of
grilled or
broiled meats on a skewer or stick. The most common kebabs include
lamb and
beef, although others use
goat,
chicken,
fish, or
shellfish. Observant Muslims and Jews do not use
pork for kebabs because of religious and cultural prohibition, but pork kebabs can be found in
Greece and
India, especially in the state of
Goa. Like other ethnic foods brought by immigrants and travelers, the kebab has become part of everyday cuisine in multicultural countries such as the UK, Germany, Sweden, Australia, Canada, and the United States.
Etymology
Beef kebabs, before they are grilled
The word
kabab (کباب) is ultimately from
Arabic or
Persian but originally meant
fried meat, not grilled meat.
The Arabic word possibly derives from
Aramaic כבבא
kabbābā, which probably has its origins in
Akkadian kabābu meaning "to burn, char". In the 14th century,
kebab is defined to be synonymous with
tabahajah, a Persian word for a dish of fried meat pieces. The Persian word was considered more high-toned in the
medieval period, and as a result,
kebab was used infrequently in Arabic books of that time. Only in the
Turkish period, did
kebab gain its current meaning of
shish kebab, whereas earlier
shiwa` شواء had been the Arabic word for grilled meat.
Kebab still retains its original meaning in the names for stew-like dishes such as
tas kebab (bowl kebab).
Similarly,
kebab halla is an Egyptian dish of stewed beef and onions.
History
The origin of kebab may lie in the short supply of cooking fuel in the Near East, which made the cooking of large foods difficult, while urban economies made it easy to obtain small cuts of meat at a butcher's shop
. The phrase is essentially Turkish in origin and Turkish tradition has it that the dish was invented by medieval
Turkic soldiers who used their swords to grill meat over open-field fires
. However, the dish has been native to the
Near East and
East Mediterranean -especially in Greece- since ancient times
. Indeed, there exist pictures of
Byzantine Greeks preparing shish kebabs and such food is attested in
Ancient Greece as early as 8th century BCE (
archaic period) in
Homer's
Iliad and
Odyssey and in
classical Greece, amongst others in the works of
Aristophanes,
Xenophon and
Aristotle .
Ibn Battuta records that kebab was served in the royal houses of
India since at least the
Sultanate period, and even commoners would enjoy it for breakfast with
naan.
Variants
Shish kebab
Shish kebab (lamb, tomato, bell pepper, onion)
() is a dish consisting of meat threaded on a
skewer,and
grilled. Any kind of meat may be used, small cubes of meat, fruit or vegetables are often threaded on the skewer as well.
Typical vegetables include
eggplant,
tomato,
bell pepper,
onions,
pickles and
mushrooms. Small slices of toasted
bread (usually
sourdough, but other breads can be used as well) are also sometimes threaded on the kebab stick with the meats and vegetables.
In
Andalusia, a variant of the shish kebab, known as
Pinchos Morunos or Moorish sticks, is very popular, usually eaten during summer
barbecues. These are usually made of pork or chicken meat or lamb. In the town of
Melilla,
beef meat is generally used.
Recently, shish kebabs have been making their way into
American barbecue. In
Louisiana, for example,
brochette, the French version of shish kebab, is also cooked at the barbecue because the barbecue style of the state is influenced by
Cajun cuisine, which in turn was influenced by
French cuisine, a major branch of
Mediterranean cuisine.
Etymology
The phrase literally means '
skewered grilled-meat' in
Turkish. In
Greece and
Cyprus, essentially the same dish is called "
souvlaki" and in Serbia vesalica "raznjici", while in Russia it is known as "shashlyk".
In most dialects of North American English, the word
kebab usually refers to shish kebab.
Döner kebab
Döner kebab, literally "rotating kebab" in
Turkish, is sliced lamb or chicken loaf, slowly roasted on a vertical
rotating spit. It is similar to
gyros and
shawarma. Döner kebab is most popularly served in
pita bread, as it is best known, with salad, but is also served in a dish with a salad and bread or
French fries on the side, or used for Turkish pizzas called
pide or "kebabpizza".
Take-out döner kebab or shawarma restaurants are common in some parts of Europe. Döner kebab is said to be the best-selling fast food in
Germany,
Poland and
Romania as well as being popular in
Austria, the
UK,
France,
Spain,
The Netherlands,
Belgium,
Norway,
Denmark,
Sweden,
Finland,
Italy,
Canada,
Ireland,
New Zealand and
Australia.
In Australia and the
UK, kebabs (or Döner meat and chips) are most popularly eaten after a night out, representing a large part of
nightlife culture. As a result, many kebab shops (and vans) will do their main business in the hours around closing time for local pubs and clubs (usually from 10pm to 4am). The same applies for The Netherlands, Ireland, New Zealand, Canada and Scandinavia. It is therefore not uncommon to find similar late-night kebab vending shops in holiday-clubbing destinations such as
Ibiza.
Chelow kabab
Chelow kabab () is a
national dish of
Iran. The meal is simple, consisting of steamed,
saffroned
basmati or Persian
rice (
chelow) and
kabab, of which there are several distinct
Persian varieties. This dish is served everywhere throughout Iran today, but traditionally was most closely associated with the northern part of the country.
It is served with the basic Iranian meal
accompaniments, in addition to grilled tomatoes on the side of the rice, and butter on top of the rice. It is an old northern tradition (probably originating in
Tehran) that a raw egg yolk should be placed on top of the rice as well, though this is strictly optional, and most restaurants will not serve the rice this way unless it is specifically requested.
Somagh (powdered
sumac) is also made available, and if desired, only a dash should be sprinkled upon the rice.
In the old
bazaar tradition, the rice (which is covered with a tin lid) and accompaniments are served first, immediately followed by the
kababs, which are brought to the table by the waiter, who holds several skewers in his left hand, and a piece of flat bread (typically
nan-e lavash) in his right. A skewer is placed directly on the rice and while holding the kabab down on the rice with the bread, the skewer is quickly pulled out. With the two most common kababs,
barg and
koobideh, two skewers are always served. In general, bazaar kabab restaurants only serve these two varieties, though there are exceptions.
The traditional beverage of choice to accompany
chelow kabab is
doogh, a Persian sour
yogurt drink, flavored with salt and mint, and sometimes made with carbonated mineral water.
Kathi kebab
Cooked in a
tandoor,
Kathi kebab is one of the most famous tandoori dishes, besides
tandoori chicken, which has made tandoori cuisine famous worldwide. Made with beef, chicken or lamb meat, it is mostly prepared with a mix of spices, and cooked in a tandoor with skewers. The radiant heat from the tandoor slowly cooks the meat and due to the lack of direct heat from the fire, the juices remain inside while adding flavour, keeping the meat's moisture intact. It is usually served with rice, or a variety of
Indian breads, along with onions and mint sauce.
Similar dishes
See also
List of kebabs
