Kebab

Kebab (UK: /kɪˈbæb/ kib-AB, US: /kɪˈbɑːb/ kib-AHB), kebap, (North American) kabob, kebob, or (Kashmiri) kabab, is a variety of roasted meat dishes that originated in the Middle East.
Kebabs consist of cut up ground meat, sometimes with vegetables and various other accompaniments according to the specific recipe. Although kebabs are typically cooked on a skewer over a fire, some kebab dishes are oven-baked in a pan, or prepared as a stew such as tas kebab. The traditional meat for kebabs is most often lamb meat, but regional recipes may include beef, goat, chicken, fish, or even pork (depending on whether or not there are specific religious prohibitions).
The word kebab has ancient origins. It was popularized in the West by Turks to refer to a range of grilled and broiled meat, which may be cooked on skewers, including stews, meatballs, and many other forms.
The word kebab likely came to English in the late 17th century from the Persian kabāb, partly through Hindustani, and Turkish. According to linguist Sevan Nişanyan, the Turkish word kebap is also derived from the Persian word kabāb, meaning roasted meat, and according to the Turkish Language Association it is from Arabic: كَبَاب kabāb. It appears in Turkish texts as early as the 14th century, in Kyssa-i Yusuf (lit. 'the story of Joseph'), though still in the Persian form. Nişanyan states that the word has the equivalent meaning of 'frying, burning' with kabābu in the old Akkadian language, and kbabā כבבא in Aramaic. In contrast, food historian Gil Marks says that the medieval Arabic and Turkish terms were adopted from the Persian kabab, which probably derived from the Aramaic.
The American Heritage Dictionary also gives a probable East Semitic root origin with the meaning of 'burn', 'char', or 'roast', from the Aramaic and Akkadian. The Babylonian Talmud instructs that Temple offerings not be kabbaba (burned). These words point to an origin in the prehistoric Proto-Afroasiatic language: *kab-, to burn or roast.
While the word kebab or shish kebab may sometimes be used in English as a culinary term that refers to any type of small chunks of meat cooked on a skewer, kebab is mainly associated with a diversity of meat dishes that originated in Persia and Anatolia.
In Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq's 10th-century Baghdadi cookbook Kitab al-Tabikh (Arabic: كتاب الطبيخ), a compendium of much of the legacy of Mesopotamian, Persian, and Arab cuisines, there are descriptions of kabāb as cut-up meat, either fried in a pan or grilled over a fire.
This cuisine has spread around the world, in parallel with Muslim influence. According to Ibn Battuta, a Maghrebi traveller, kebab was served in the royal houses during the Delhi Sultanate (1206–1526), and even commoners would enjoy it for breakfast with naan. Kebab dishes have been adopted and integrated with local cooking styles and innovations, from the now-ubiquitous doner kebab fast food, to the many variations of shish kebab, such as the satays of Southeast Asia.
In most English-speaking countries, a kebab may be the classic shish kebab or souvlaki – small cubes of meat cooked on a skewer – or made with minced (ground) meat, as in doner kebab. By contrast, in Indian English, Bangladeshi English, Pakistani English and in the languages of the Middle East, other parts of Asia, and the Muslim world, a kebab is any of a wide variety of grilled meat dishes. Some dishes ultimately derived from Middle Eastern kebab may have different names in their local languages, such as the Chinese chuan.
Chuan (Chinese: 串; pinyin: chuàn), often referred to as "chuan" in Mandarin throughout the north, or kawap (كاۋاپ) in Uyghur, is a variation of kebab originating from the Uyghur people in the western province of Xinjiang and a popular dish in Chinese Islamic cuisine. The dish has since spread across the rest of the country and become a popular street food.
Although the most traditional form of chuan uses lamb or mutton, other types of meat, such as chicken, beef, pork, and seafood, may be used as well. Small pieces of meat are skewered and either roasted or deep-fried. Common spices and condiments include cumin called "ziran", pepper, sesame, and sesame oil.
While the history of street foods in Greece goes back to ancient times, the iconic Greek gyros and souvlaki as it is known today arose only following the Second World War. Introduced to Athens in the 1950s by Greek refugees from Turkey and the Middle East, gyros was originally known simply as döner kebab. It is typically served as a sandwich rolled in pita bread, or on a plate, with french fries and various salads and sauces such as tzatziki. Later in the 1960s, vendors also began selling dishes in the same style made with souvlaki, which resembles Turkish shish kebab, but is usually made with pork.
Around the same time, the Greek word gyros replaced döner kebab, and the Greek style of the dish spread to become popular, particularly in North America, and various other parts of the world.
In contrast to other areas of Greece, in Athens, both types of sandwich may be called souvlaki, with the skewered meat being called kalamaki.
Although gyros is unquestionably of Middle Eastern origin, the issue of whether modern-day souvlaki came to Greece via Turkish cuisine, and should be considered a Greek styling of shish kebab, or is a contemporary revival of Greek tradition dating as far back as 17th century BC Minoan civilization, is a topic of sometimes heated debate, at least between Greeks and Turks. While English speakers may refer to souvlaki skewers as kebabs, they are not properly called that in Greece.
Both Armenian and Azerbaijani cuisine feature oblong kofta-style mincemeats kebabs known as lula or lyulya kebab, while Armenian cuisine refers to shish-style kebabs as khorovats, and doner kebab as Karsi khorovats after the city of Kars which became known for the dish during the time of the Ottoman Empire.
There are several distinct Persian varieties of kabab (Persian: کباب). Kabab may be served with either steamed, saffroned basmati or Persian rice and called chelow kabab (چلوکباب), which is considered the national dish of Iran. It may also be served with the various types of bread that are the most commonly eaten in Iran, such as lavash.
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 its use varies based on tastes to a small dash on the rice or a heavy sprinkling on both rice and meat, particularly when used with red (beef/veal/lamb) meat.
At Persian restaurants, the combination of one kabab barg and one kabab koobideh is typically called Soltani, meaning "sultan's feast". The combination of one kabab barg, one jujeh kabab and kabab koobideh is typically called Shah abbasi, meaning "Shah Abbas' meal". The traditional beverage of choice to accompany Persian kabab is doogh, a sour yogurt drink with mint and salt.
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 kebab 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.
In Iranian Azerbaijan, "Binab (also Bonab) Kababi" is very famous in Iranian Azerbaijani local cuisine for its large size. It is named after the city of Binab in East Azerbaijan province. This kabab and other types (e.g., Shishlik, Kubide, Berge, Gelin, etc.) can be served alone or with rice and fresh salad on the side. In this region Kababs come usually with yogurt, hot bread, tomato, onion, parsley and paprika-salt, and tarragon.
Kabab koobideh (کباب کوبیده) it kūbide (کوبیده) is an Iranian minced meat kabab which is made from ground lamb, beef, or chicken, often mixed with parsley and chopped onions.
Kabab Koobideh contains: ground meat, onion, salt, pepper, turmeric, and seasoning. These ingredients are mixed together until the mixture becomes smooth and sticky. One egg is added to help the mix stick together. The mixture is then pressed around a skewer. Koobideh Kabab is typically 18 to 20 centimeters (7–8 in) long.
Kabāb-e Barg (Persian: کباب برگ) is a Persian style barbecued lamb, chicken or beef kabab dish. The main ingredients of Kabab Barg – a short form of this name – are fillets of beef tenderloin, lamb shank or chicken breast, onions and olive oil.
Marinade is prepared by the mixture of half a cup of olive oil, three onions, garlic, half teaspoon saffron, salt and black pepper. One kilogram of lamb is cut into 1 cm thick and 4–5 cm long pieces. It should be marinated overnight in refrigerator, and the container should be covered. The next day, the lamb is threaded on long, thin metal skewers. It is brushed with marinade and is barbecued for 5–10 minutes on each side.
Jūjeh Kabāb (جوجه‌کباب) consists of pieces of chicken first marinated in minced onion and lemon juice with saffron then grilled over a fire. It is sometimes served with grilled tomato and pepper. Jujeh Kabab is one of the most popular Persian dishes.
Kabab Bakhtiari is a combination of Jujeh kabab (chicken kabab) and Kabab barg (beef or lamb meat) on the same skewer. Its name comes from the Bakhtiari region of Iran.
Kabab Kenjeh, also known as Chenjeh (کنجه‌کباب, چنجه) is a kabab traditionally made with chunks of marinated lamb meat. It is typically served with grilled tomatoes and rice or bread.
Kabab Torsh is an Iranian Kabab from the northern provinces of Gilan and Mazandaran, renowned for its sour, pomegranate based seasoning.
Kabab Lari, Kabab Tabei (Pan Kabab), Dande Kabab, Kabab Shandiz, Shishlik Kabab, Kabab Ghafghazi, Kabab Soltani, Kabob Vaziri, Kabob Loghmeh, Taas Kabab, Mahi Kabab (Fish Kabab) and Kabab Jegar (Sheep Liver Kaba) are among other types of Persian Kababs popular in Iran.
Several types of kebab are popular in Iraqi cuisine, although the word kebab in local use is reserved for skewers of spiced ground lamb, traditionally grilled on natural wood charcoal to give the kebab its special flavor. Skewers of grilled marinated meat chunks are called tikka.
Several varieties of kebabs can be found in Levantine cuisine. Among the most common are shish taouk, which are grilled chicken skewers marinated in olive oil and spices, and lahem meshwi, charcoal-grilled skewers of prime lamb cubes lightly seasoned with herbs.
The Syrian city of Aleppo is said to have at least twenty-six versions of kebab halabi or Aleppo kebab, including kebab cooked with cherries; with aubergine; with chili, parsley and pine-nuts; and with truffles.
Mizrahi Jews brought various types of grilled meat from their native Middle Eastern countries to Israel, where they have become an essential part of Israeli cuisine. Among the most popular are skewers of elongated spiced ground meat, called kabab (Hebrew: קבב), which have become a staple dish of meat restaurants and the main dish of the traditional holiday barbecues, alongside the shishlik. They are commonly made of beef, though lamb is also occasionally used, and are almost always served with the local pita bread.
Shawarma, although not considered a kebab in most countries of the Levant, is another very popular type of grilled meat preparation that characterizes this region.
Several varieties of kebab are popular in Egyptian cuisine, although the word kebab in local use is reserved for skewers of grilled marinated meat chunks. Skewers of grilled seasoned ground meat are called kofta. Shish taouk, which are skewers of grilled marinated chicken chunks, are another popular variety of kebab in Egypt. All kebabs are grilled on charcoal to give them their special flavor.
South Asia has a rich kebab tradition with a great variety of different kebab dishes. Many modern kebabs in Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani cuisine trace their origins back to the time of the Mughals and the strong influence of Mughlai cuisine. Kebab dishes common to one or more of these countries include:
Afghan kebab (Pashto/Dari: کباب) is most often found in restaurants and outdoor vendor stalls. The most widely used meat is lamb. Recipes differ with every restaurant. In Afghan cuisine, kebab is served with naan, rarely rice, and customers have the option to sprinkle sumac or ghora, dried ground sour grapes, on their kebab. The quality of kebab is solely dependent on the quality of the meat. Pieces of fat from the sheep's tail (jijeq) are usually added with the lamb skewers to add extra flavor.
Other popular kebabs include the lamb chop, ribs, beef, buffalo, and chicken.
Chapli kebab, a specialty of Eastern Afghanistan, is a patty made from beef mince. It is prepared flat and round, and served with naan. The original recipe of chapli kebab dictates a half meat (or less), half flour mixture, which renders it lighter in taste and less expensive.
In Bangladesh they make variations of kebab (Bengali কাবাব or "Kabab"). In the old Mughal province of Bengal Subah's capital of Dhaka, various Pakistani and Indian-influenced dishes started to be made. Amongst these were kebabs. In Bangladeshi cuisine, most kebabs are made using fish or beef.
Modern-day kebabs in India mostly trace their origin to the influence of Mughlai cuisine. Some Indian kebabs have very specific geographic attributions, such as Kakori kebab, which is made of finely ground, soft mince and attributed to the city of Kakori in Uttar Pradesh, where legend has it that it was first prepared for old and toothless pilgrims.
In Pakistan kebabs trace back their origin during the time of the Mughals Mughlai cuisine, and their influence on the cuisine of modern-day Pakistan. There are all sorts of kebab varieties such as seekh, chapli, shammi and other forms of roasted and grilled meats. As Pakistan is a predominantly Muslim country, pork is not used. Instead meats like beef, chicken, lamb, fish and sometimes buff are used in the making of kebabs.
Satay is a kebab of seasoned, skewered, and grilled meat, served with a sauce. It is a dish of Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand.
Satay may consist of diced or sliced chicken, goat, lamb, mutton, beef, pork, fish, other meats, or tofu. Traditionally skewers from the midrib of the coconut palm frond are used, although bamboo skewers are often used instead. It is grilled or barbecued over a wood or charcoal fire with spicy seasonings. It may be served with various sauces, though most often a combination of soy and peanut sauce. Hence, peanut sauce is often called satay sauce.
Satay was developed by Javanese street vendors as a unique adaptation of Indian kebab. The introduction of satay, and other now-iconic dishes such as tongseng and gulai kambing based on meats such as goat and lamb, coincided with an influx of Indian and Arab traders and immigrants starting in the 18th century. It is available almost anywhere in Indonesia, where it has become a national dish. In Sri Lanka, it has become a staple of the local diet as a result of the influences from the local Malay community.
Sosatie (plural sosaties) is a traditional South African dish of meat (usually lamb or mutton) cooked on skewers. The term derives from sate ("skewered meat") and saus (spicy sauce). It is of Cape Malay origin. Sosatie recipes vary, but commonly the ingredients can include cubes of lamb, beef, chicken, dried apricots, red onions and mixed peppers.
Suya is a spicy kebab which is a popular food item in West Africa that originated in Nigeria. It is traditionally prepared by the Hausa people of Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger, Ghana and some parts of Sudan (where it is called agashe).
Kyinkyinga is common and popular in West Africa. It is a Ghanaian dish, very similar to or synonymous with the Hausa suya kebab, also known as sooya, tsinga, chichinga, tsire agashi, chachanga or tankora.
Ćevapi (pronounced [tɕɛv̞ǎːpi]) or ćevapčići (formal diminutive, [tɕɛv̞ǎptʃitɕi], ћевапчићи), which comes from the word kebab, is a grilled dish of minced meat, a type of skinless sausage, found traditionally in the countries of southeastern Europe (the Balkans). They are considered a national dish in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia and are also common in Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Albania, Slovenia, as well as in North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania. Ćevapi has its origins in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Ottoman period, and represents a regional speciality similar to the kofte kebab. A dish with similar origins is in Romania called mititei.
Pinchitos or Pinchos Morunos is a Moorish-derived kebab dish in Spanish cuisine. The name pinchitos is used in the southern Spanish autonomous communities of Andalusia and Extremadura. They consist of small cubes of meat threaded onto a skewer (Spanish: pincho) which are traditionally cooked over charcoal braziers. Similar dishes in North Africa or other Muslim majority countries tend to be lamb-based, but pork and chicken are the most popular meats for the dish in Spain. Pinchitos are also extremely popular in Venezuela, due to the heavy influence Spain had in Venezuelan cuisine during many years.
Shashlik is similar to, or sometimes a synonym for, shish kebab. It is popular in many countries, particularly in Eastern and Central Europe, the Caucasus, and the Baltics. In non-Muslim-majority countries, shashlik and equivalent dishes like Romanian frigărui may sometimes be prepared with pork.
Kebab cuisine has spread around the world together with Muslim influence. Although non-Muslim Westerners may be increasingly familiar with some of the many other international kebab dishes, only two have become an established and widely popular part of the culture in many Western countries. In English, the word kebab commonly refers to shish kebab and, outside of North America, to döner kebab or related fast-food dishes. These dishes are also served in many other countries, where they may have different names.
Kebabs have also met opposition: in Italy, several cities banned kebab shops in order to preserve Italian culinary culture. Many protested against these bans as "racist".
In English, kebab, or in North America also kabob, often occurring as shish kebab, is now a culinary term for small pieces of meat cooked on a skewer. The word kebab, most likely derived from Persian, has been used with various spellings in this sense since at least the 17th century, while the Oxford English Dictionary records the earliest known publication of the term shish kebab, derived from Turkish: şiş kebap, in 1914.
There are two etymologies suggested for Shish Kabob in the Persian dictionary of Dehkhoda: Shish being the Persian word "Shish" for the number 6, which refers to the original six pieces of meat of a standard Kabob skewer, or "Shish" being driven from Late Middle Persian "Sich" meaning a skewer. The word "Kabob" is most probably driven from the Arhameic word kbābā (to roast). In many English-speaking countries, it refers to the now well-known dish prepared with marinated meat or seafood together with vegetables such as onions, tomatoes, and bell peppers threaded onto the skewer, also sometimes known as shashlik. This preparation is different from the typical Turkish shish kebab style, where vegetables are usually cooked on a separate skewer. Shish kebabs are customarily prepared in homes and restaurants, and are usually cooked on a grill or barbecue, or roasted in an oven.
The word kebab may also be used as a general term in English to describe any similar-looking skewered food, such as brochette, satay, souvlaki, yakitori, or numerous small chunks of any type of food served on a stick. This is different from its use in the West Asia, where shish (Persian/Mazandarani: شیش, Turkish: şiş) is the word for skewer, while kebab comes from the word for grilling.
English speakers from countries outside North America may also use the word kebab generally to mean the popular fast food version of the Turkish döner kebab, or the related shawarma or gyros, and the sandwiches made with them, available from kebab shops as take-away meals. This usage may be found in some non-English parts of Europe as well. In North America, the Greek variant gyros is most widely known.
The döner kebab originated in 19th century Turkey, but it became widely popular in the West only in the latter half of the 20th century. Many layers of meat are stacked onto a large vertical rotating spit; the outer surface is gradually cooked and sliced off, and typically served either mixed or topped with vegetables and sauces in a sandwich made with pita or other flatbreads. Certain regional variants also include cheeses. Sandwiches served in the same manner, but with other meats or cheese, may also sometimes be called a "kebab". It is available in most parts of Europe, and many other countries, though sometimes with different names or serving styles. In Germany, the highly popular sandwich, introduced by Turkish immigrants, is called a Döner, though Arab shops there serve shawarma.