Kebab

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Image:Kebab.jpg Kebab (kebap in Turkish, kabab in Iran, India and Pakistan, Kabab or كباب in Arabic, also spelled kebob, kabob) means "grilled (or broiled) meat" in Persian and Turkish. Kebab is usually made of lamb and beef, although chicken and fish can be used for some styles. Pork is never used by Muslims because of religious belief but is sometimes used by non-Muslim sellers.

There are many varieties of kebab and the term means different things in different countries. The generic term kebab usually refers to döner kebab in Europe and to shish kebab in the United States, though its meaning can vary.

Perhaps the earliest recipe is in the tenth-century Kitab al-Tabeekh كتاب الطبيخ (book of cookery) by Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq of Baghdad. His recipe for Kebab Khalis uses thin slices of lean meat, salted and grilled in an ungreased frying pan.

1 Döner kebab
2 Shish kebab
3 Short History of the Kebab
4 Some Kebab-variants
- 4.1 Shish Kebab in Other Languages
- 4.2 Similar dishes
5 External link

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Döner kebab

Image:Döner kebab.jpg Template:Main Döner kebab, literally "rotating meat", is a sliced lamb or chicken loaf slowly roasted on a vertical rotating spit. It is similar to gyros, shawarma and Taco al pastor. Döner kebab is popularly best known served in pita bread with salad but is also served on a dish with a salad and bread or French fries on the side or used on 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 and comes close in the popularity stake-outs in France, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Australia. Take-out gyros is quite popular in the United States where it is usually beef and lamb, shawarma is available in ethnic neighborhoods but döner kebab is unknown.

Some kebab connoisseurs will also point out that it contains every food group for a healthy meal and lifestyle. It has bread (cereals group), cabbage and lettuce (vegetables group), tomatoes (fruit group), creamy herb sauce (dairy group), oil (fat group) not to mention the döner meat (meat group), although one might note some imbalance in the relative ratios (notably, the fat, meat and vegetable groups.)

Iskender kebap - Doner kebab served with yoghurt, tomato sauce and butter

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Shish kebab

Shish kebab (şiş kebap in Turkish) is a wooden or metal stick (a skewer) with small cubes of any kind of meat, fowl, fish, fruit, or vegetable (usually a combination) that is roasted on a grill. The name literally means 'skewer of grilled meat' in Persian. Vegetables typically used include eggplant, tomato, bell pepper, onion and mushrooms. A similar Greek food is called Souvlaki or Kalamaki.

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Short History of the Kebab

Kabab was the food of Persian kings and in ancient times ordinary Iranians consumed it only once a year on Nowrooz, the Persian New Year. Today, however, kabab is not only consumed in almost every Iranian house on a weekly basis, but it has also become Iran's number one selling fast food.

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Some Kebab-variants

Samak Kebab - grilled fish on a stick
Shish Tawook or Shish Taouk - yogurt marinated chicken grilled on a stick (şiş tavuk in Turkish)
Kabab Halabi a kind of Shish Kebab, very common in Syria and Lebanon, named after the city of Halab.
Kofte Kebab or Shish köfte - minced lamb meatballs with herbs, often including parsley and mint, on a stick, grilled.
Kabab Koobideh - (Persian) ground beef (usually filet mignon), often mixed with parsley and chopped onions
Kabab Barg - (Persian) grilled marinated flank steak (or filet mignon)
Kabab Soltani - (Persian) combination of kabab koobideh and kabab barg
Jujeh Kabab - (Persian) grilled chicken
Chenjeh Kabab - (Persian) grilled lamb prepared similar to shish kabab, without the vegetables
Shishleek - (Persian) grilled baby lamb chops (usually from the leg), typically marinated
Kabab Bareh - (Persian) grilled lamb, typically marinated in yogurt with parsley
Kabab Torsh - (Gilan - Northern Iran) Also called (Tursh - e - Kabab) grilled beef marinated in a mixture of pomegranate juice, crushed walnuts, parsley, crushed garlic, and olive oil.
Seekh kabab - Indian/Pakistani- marinated in spices and grilled on skewers
Shami kebab - Indian/Pakistani - it is claimed they orginated in Syria
Chapli Kabab - Pakistani - delicacy of Peshawar
Boryani Kebab
Senjeh Kebab
Durum Kebab - kebab-meat in a pita roll.
Lahmacun - a pizza-like kebab
Adana Kebab - kebab meat with chili
Urfa Kebab - similar to Adana Kebab, but not spicy.
Alanya kebab - Pieces of beef, bread and tomatoes, with a spicy sauce.

The dish called chelow kabab (rice with kabab) is one of the most common forms of serving kabab in Iran which combines a variety of Persian kababs with saffroned Basmati rice , lavash (a paper-thin bread), grilled tomato, raw onions, bell peppers, mushrooms and Somagh and often a side of salad shirazi, mast khiyar and doogh (nowadays carbonated). An old Iranian tradition is to break a raw egg yolk over the rice, along with plenty of butter, just before serving.

An Indian dish called Seekh Kebab is popular in many Indian restaurants. It is cooked in a tandoor, and is often served with chutneys or mint sauce. It is often included in Tandoori sampler platters, which contain a variety of Tandoor cooked dishes. A Seekh Kebab can also be served in a naan bread much like a Donor Kebeb traditionally is.

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