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Kebab
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Kebab (also transliterated as kebap, kabab, kebob, 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.
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Encyclopedia
Kebab (also transliterated as kebap, kabab, kebob, 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 Bulgaria, Cyprus, 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 around the globe.
Etymology
The word kabab is ultimately from Arabic and originally meant fried meat, not grilled meat. The Arabic word possibly derives from Aramaic ???? kabbaba, which probably has its origins in Akkadian kababu 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. Kebab was used frequently in Arabic books of that time to refer to meatballs made of ground or pounded chicken or lamb
. Only in the Turkish period, did kebab gain its current meaning of shish kebab, whereas earlier shiwa` ???? 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 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 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.
Shish kebab literally means 'skewered grilled-meat' in Turkish. In Greece and Cyprus, essentially the same dish is called souvlaki and in Serbia vešalica ražnjici ("pork on a skewer"), 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, beef or chicken, 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 many parts of Europe. Döner kebab is said to be the best-selling fast food in Germany and Poland as well as being popular in many other European countries, Canada, 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 10 pm to 4 am). 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.
Health concerns about doner kebab, including unacceptable salt and fat levels and improper labeling of meat used, are repeatedly reported in UK media.
The German-style döner kebab was supposedly invented by a Turkish immigrant in Berlin in the 1970s, and became a popular German take-away food during the 1990s, but is almost exclusively sold by Turks and considered a Turkish specialty in Germany; however, in Turkey it is often associated with Germany.
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 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.
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.
In Malaysia
Kebabs in Malaysia are generally sold at pasar malam (night markets) and in shopping mall food courts. Normally the meat, after being cut from the spit is pan fried with onions and chilli sauce then placed into a pita bread pocket before being filled with condiments such as tomatoes, mayonnaise, onion and lettuce.
Similar dishes
- Anticuchos (Andean) · Brochette (French) · Cevapi (Balkan) · Pinchitos (Spanish Andalusian) · Espetada (Portuguese) · Espetinho (Brazilian) · Mtsvadi (?????? -Georgian) · Souvlaki (S??ß????- Greek) · Kebakko (Finland) · Satay (Southeast Asia) · Shashlik (Russian) · Yakitori (Japanese) · Rablóhús (Hungarian) · Frigarui and Mititei (Romanian) · Spiedies (New York State) · Spiedino (Italian) · Suya (Nigerian) · Kkochi (Korean) · Sosatie (South African) · Kawap (Uygur) · Chuanr (Chinese) · Banderilla (México) · Khorovatz (Armenian).
See also
List of kebabs
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