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Information about Kebab

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Left to right: Chenjeh Kabab, Kabab Koobideh, Jujeh Kabab in an Afghan restaurant.
Kebab (also transliterated as kabab, kebap, kabob, kibob) refers to a variety of grilled/broiled meat dishes in Middle Eastern and South Asian cuisines. Kebabs usually consist of lamb and beef, though particular styles of kebab have chicken or fish. Pork is never used for kebabs by Muslims or Jews because of the religious prohibition on the meat, but is sometimes used by non-Halal or non-Kosher sellers.

Etymology

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Beef kebabs, before they are grilled
The word kabab (کباب) is ultimately from Arabic or Persian[1][2] but originally meant fried meat, not grilled meat.[3] In the 14th century dictionary Lisan al'Arab, 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, with the appearance of the phrase shish kebab, did kebab gain its current meaning, whereas earlier shiwa` شواء had been the Arabic word for grilled meat. However, kebab still retains its original meaning in the names for stew-like dishes such as tas kebab (bowl kebab).[3]

Shish kebab

Shish kebab (Turkish: şiş kebap) is a dish consisting of small cubes of meat threaded on a skewer (şiş in Turkish) that are grilled or roasted. Any kind of meat may be used, and fruit or vegetables are often placed on the skewer as well. Typical vegetables included are eggplant, tomato, bell pepper, onion and mushrooms. The phrase literally means 'skewer of grilled meat' in Turkish.[4]

In English, the word kebab usually refers to shish kebab.[5][3] In its current meaning, the phrase is essentially Turkish in origin, and tradition has it that the dish was invented by medieval Turkic soldiers who used their swords to grill meat over open-field fires.[6] However, some experts contend that the dish has been native to the Near East since ancient times. [3] Indeed, there exist pictures of Byzantine Greeks preparing shish kebabs, and a food described in Homer's Odyssey also bears a close resemblance.[6] It has been speculated that shish kebab's origins lie in the short supply of ready fuel in the Near East, which made the cooking of large foods difficult. Moreover, the urban nature of civilization there made it easy to obtain small cuts of meat at a butcher's shop.[3]

Ibn Battuta records that shish 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. [7]

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. In the town of Melilla, beef meat is generally used.

Döner kebab

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İskender kebap, the original döner kebab invented in Bursa, Turkey.
Main article: Döner kebab
Döner kebab, literally "rotating meat" in Turkish, is sliced lamb or chicken loaf which is slowly roasted on a vertical rotating spit. It is similar to gyros, shawarma, and Taco al pastor. 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 the UK, France, The Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Italy, Canada, and Australia. Take-out gyros are popular in the United States, where beef and lamb are typically used; shawarma is available in ethnic neighborhoods, but döner kebab is mostly unknown outside of large cities like New York City.

In the UK kebabs are most popularly eaten after a night out and many kebab shops will do their main business in the hours around closing time for local pubs and clubs. The same applies for The Netherlands, Australia and Scandinavia.

Kebab variants

For a list of Kebab variants, see .

Similar dishes

Anticuchos (Andean States), Brochette (French), Ćevapi (Balkans), Pinchitos (Spanish), Espetada (Portuguese), mtsvadi (Georgia), Souvlaki (Greek), Kebakko (Finland), Satay (Southeast Asia), Shashlik (Russian), Yakitori (Japanese), Rablóhús (Hungarian), Frigărui (Romania), Spiedies (New York State), Spiedino (Italian cuisine), Suya (Nigerian cuisine), Kkochi (Cuisine of Korea), Sosatie (Cuisine of South Africa)，Kawap（Uygur)

References

1. ^ kebab. Merriam-Webster Online. Retrieved on 2007-04-23.
2. ^ kebab definition. Encarta World English Dictionary [North American Edition]. Microsoft Corporation. Retrieved on 2007-04-25.
3. ^ Davidson, Alan (1999). Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 429. 
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Online - Shish Kebab
5. ^ (2001) in Prosper Montagne: Larousse Gastronomique. New York: Clarkson Potter, 646. ISBN 0-609-60971-8. 
6. ^ Wright, Clifford A. (1999). A Mediterranean Feast. New York: William Morrow, 333. 
7. ^ Achaya, K. T. (1998). A Historical Dictionary of Indian Food. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 115. 

External links

Grilling is a form of cooking that involves direct heat. Devices that grill are called grills. The definition varies widely by region and culture.

British English

In the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries (except Canada), grilling generally refers to cooking food
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Grilling is a form of cooking that involves direct heat. Devices that grill are called grills. The definition varies widely by region and culture.

British English

In the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries (except Canada), grilling generally refers to cooking food
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The term Middle Eastern cuisine refers to the various cuisines of the Middle East. Despite their similarities, there are considerable differences in climate and culture, so that the term is not particularly useful.
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South Asian cuisine includes the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent. The staple foods in this region are wheat and rice.

See:
  • Cuisine of India
  • Cuisine of Pakistan
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lamb, hoggett or mutton are culinary names for the meat of a domestic sheep. The meat of a sheep a year old or younger is generally known as lamb, whereas the meat of an older sheep is either hoggett or mutton
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Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle.
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chicken (Gallus gallus) is a type of domesticated fowl, believed to be descended from the wild Indian and south-east Asian Red Junglefowl.

The chicken is one of the most common and wide-spread domestic animals.
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Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig (Sus scrofa), often specifically the fresh meat but can be used as an all-inclusive term. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide.
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Halal (حلال, ḥalāl, halaal) is an Arabic term meaning "permissible".
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Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus, Hebrew: כַּשְרוּת‎) refers to Jewish dietary laws.
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al-‘Arabiyyah in written Arabic (Kufic script):  
Pronunciation: /alˌʕa.raˈbij.ja/
Spoken in: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman,
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fɒːɾˈsiː in Perso-Arabic script (Nasta`liq style):  
Pronunciation: [fɒːɾˈsiː]
Spoken in: Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and areas of Uzbekistan and Pakistan.
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For other uses of "fry" or "frying", see .
Frying is the cooking of food in oil or fat. Chemically, oils and fats are the same, differing only in melting point, but the distinction is only made when needed.
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14th century was that century which lasted from 1301 to 1400.

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Middle Ages form the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three "ages": the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages and Modern Times.
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Ottoman Empire or Ottoman Caliphate (1299 to 1922) (Old Ottoman Turkish: دولت عالیه عثمانیه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish:
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Turkish (Türkçe, ] (help info )
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skewer is a thin metal or wood stick used to hold small pieces of food together while grilling.

Metal skewers are typically stainless steel and will have a pointed tip on one end and a grip of some kind on the other end for ease of removing the food.
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Grilling is a form of cooking that involves direct heat. Devices that grill are called grills. The definition varies widely by region and culture.

British English

In the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries (except Canada), grilling generally refers to cooking food
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Roasting is a cooking method that utilizes dry heat, whether an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting usually causes caramelization of the surface of the food, which is considered a flavor enhancement. Meats and most root and bulb vegetables can be roasted.
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S. melongena

Binomial name
Solanum melongena
L.

The eggplant, aubergine or brinjal (Solanum melongena) is a plant of the family Solanaceae
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S. lycopersicum

Binomial name
Solanum lycopersicum
L.

Synonyms

Lycopersicon lycopersicum
Lycopersicon esculentum

The tomato (Solanum lycopersicum
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C. annuum

Binomial name
Capsicum annuum
L.

For green peppercorns, see .


Bell pepper is a cultivar group of the species Capsicum annuum.
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A. cepa

Binomial name
Allium cepa
L.

Many plants in the genus Allium are known by the common name onion but, used without qualifiers, it usually refers to Allium cepa.
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A Mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of fungus typically produced above ground on soil or on their food source. The standard for the name mushroom is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus
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skewer is a thin metal or wood stick used to hold small pieces of food together while grilling.

Metal skewers are typically stainless steel and will have a pointed tip on one end and a grip of some kind on the other end for ease of removing the food.
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Turkish (Türkçe, ] (help info )
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Turkic peoples are a group of peoples residing in northern, central and western Eurasia who speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. These peoples share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds.
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Near East is a term commonly used by archaeologists, geographers and historians, less commonly by journalists and commentators, to refer to the region encompassing Anatolia (the Asian portion of modern Turkey), the Levant (Palestine, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon), Georgia, Armenia,
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