How to cook a real shish kebab in Armenian

Armenian cuisine is one of the oldest in Transcaucasia. The ancient culinary traditions were carefully preserved among the people for centuries and reached us almost in their original form. And the dishes themselves evoke a lively interest among gourmets and ordinary connoisseurs of delicious and healthy food. You can make sure of this with the example of such a wonderful and beloved dish, like a shish kebab.

Product Characteristics

What is a shish kebab in Armenian? First of all, these are selected varieties of lamb meat, less often pig meat. Secondly, it is necessary to have spices and spices to give the dish a special flavor. This includes basil, coriander, pepper, cloves. Often meat, in order to make a real shish kebab in Armenian, is marinated not only in vinegar or wine, but in pomegranate juice, cognac or kefir. And, of course, the dish is characterized by its own special methods of heat treatment. Much attention is paid to the size of each piece of meat. Traditionally, the shish kebab in Armenian is fried from billets weighing 30 g. Consequently, about 125-130 g of the main product is consumed per serving portion. In many regions of Armenia, meat is baked along with onions, eggplant and tomatoes. Thanks to vegetables, it becomes especially juicy and acquires a unique flavor bouquet. Shashlik in Armenian style is served according to ancient culinary etiquette, in pita bread, with lots of fresh parsley and dill greens, collected in small bundles.

One of the old recipes

To prepare a truly Armenian shish kebab, a recipe that came to us from the depths of centuries, prescribes to take 2 kg of pork belly or neck, 1 kg of onion, 1 fruit of a still not fully ripened pomegranate and salt, red pepper, basil, parsley, cilantro. And be sure to make flat pita bread. First you need to marinate the meat. To do this, cut it into portions, thoroughly each salt and pepper, fold into a high enamel pot. Rings cut the onions, add to the meat, gently mix. Cover the pan and put in a cool place for 8-12 hours. From the pomegranate squeeze out the juice and pour them a special Armenian shish kebab from pork about half an hour before you start to fry it. Stir into the skewers meat grill until ready, turning over as necessary. Separately slice greens - feathers onions, stalks of parsley, dill, coriander. Ready meat is removed from the skewers, mix with greens, wrap in lavash and serve.

Recipe "Sevan"

Terrific delicious real Armenian shish kebab will be obtained from you, if you make it based on the recommendations of this recipe. The main highlight of the dish is that the meat is marinated in sour milk (yogurt or kefir). And since yogurt literally per hour is absorbed by almost 90%, then the shish kebab will also be assimilated faster. So, take 1 kg of lean lamb meat. For juiciness, add 150 grams of fat. In addition, you need 4 onions, 4-5 cloves of garlic, half a liter of kefir. And taste salt and hot pepper. Cut the meat into portions, chop the onion, garlic, mix everything in a deep saucepan and pour over the yogurt. In the marinade, add salt and ground black pepper. Put the saucepan on for 10 hours in a cool place. Then take out pieces of meat, soak them with napkins and thread on skewers interspersed with thin plates of bacon. Fry until cooked on embers. Before serving sprinkle with chopped greens, serve a small bunch of parsley for each skewer.

Meat "on-karski"

Another traditional Armenian dish will be on your table and pleasantly surprise the guests if you make an original shish kebab called "karski" or "Middle Eastern". Meat for him requires only lamb, removed from the lumbar part of the carcass. It should be freed from veins and tapes. It is cut for shish kebab in large pieces of approximately the same size and round shape. Therefore for one batch of a dish you need at least 2 kg of lamb. Intermittent on the skewers meat should be fat, necessarily kurdjuchnym. It needs from 500 g. Well, the pickle in this recipe (in comparison with other Transcaucasian types of shish kebab) is also peculiar. For him through the meat grinder, scroll 10-12 medium bulbs. Prepare fresh lemon peel, chop the flesh and rind (pitted). Combine both components, pour in 50 g of cognac and 2 tablespoons of vinegar, preferably grape. Pour 3 teaspoons of salt, one - ground pepper fragrant and two tablespoons chopped greens basil, cilantro and dill, and a bit of ground cloves. Stir well.

Preparation of shish kebab "in karski"

Prepared meat and lard put in an enamel vessel. Pour marinade and soak for 8 hours. Cut into mugs with a thickness of 5-6 cm ripe, hard tomatoes. Pickled meat on skewers, alternating with bacon and tomatoes. Fry the shish kebab to the full preparedness, each time before turning, water the marinade. Serve, sprinkle the skewer with herbs and wrapped in lavash. Separately fry the slices of eggplant soaked in vinegar and also overlay the meat served.