Shashlik Or Shashlyk Skewered And Grilled Lamb, Pork Or Beef, Popular Worldwide

Shashlik or shashlyk is a dish of skewered and grilled cubes of meat popular in Iran, Eastern and Central Europe (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Poland, Hungary), the Baltic region in Northern Europe (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia), the South Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia), Central Asia, Afghanistan, Bangladeshi, Israel, Iraq, Mongolia, Morocco, Pakistan, Turkey, and other places.

Shashlik meaning skewered meat was originally made of lamb.

Nowadays it is also made of pork goat or beef depending on local preferences and religious observances.

The skewers are either threaded with meat only, or with alternating pieces of meat, fat, and vegetables, such as bell pepper, onion, mushroom and tomato.

The word shish means skewer. The word shishlik is literally translated from Turkic languages as skewerable.

Even though the word shashlyk was derived from the Crimean Tatars by the Cossacks as early as the 16th century, shashlik did not reach Moscow until the late 19th century.

From then on, their popularity spread rapidly; by the 1910s they were a staple in St Petersburg restaurants and by the 1920s they were already a pervasive street food all over urban Russia.

While it is not unusual to see shashlik today listed on the menu of restaurants, it is more commonly sold in the form of fast-food by street vendors who roast the skewers over wood, charcoal, or coal.

It is also cooked in outdoor environments during social gatherings, similarly to barbecue in English-speaking countries.

In Iranian cuisine, meat for shashlik as opposed to other forms of shish kebab is usually in form of large chunks of meat, while elsewhere the form of medium size meat cubes is maintained making it similar to brochette.

The meat is marinated overnight in a high-acidity marinade like vinegar, dry wine or sour fruit/vegetable juice with the addition of onions, herbs and spices.

Shashlik is usually cooked on a grill called a mangal.

Other Similar dishes:

Anticuchos – Peru and other Andean states

Arrosticini – Italy (Abruzzo)

Brochette – France, Spain (Catalonia)

Chislic- North Dakota, South Dakota, American West

Chuanr – China

Churrasco – Brazil

Espetada – Portugal

Frigarui – Romania

Khorovats – Armenia

Mtsvadi – Georgia

Pinchitos – Spain (Andalusia and Extremadura)

Satay – Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines) and Netherlands

Souvlaki – Greece

Yakitori – Japan

Şiş kebap – Turkey

Sosatie – South Africa

Raznjici – Serbia, Croatia

Seekh Kebab – India, Pakistan and Afghanistan

Souvla – Cyprus

Kkochi – Korea




Tourism Observer