Kawap: meat grilled on skewers

1What it is

كاۋاپ means meat roasted over a fire; the word came from Persian. It is made from lamb or beef, seasoned with salt, black pepper, chilli powder and cumin, and eaten straight off the skewer.

It is usually made on a grill and sold at food stalls by the road. There is also tunur kawap, made in a tunur clay oven.

2Ingredients (one example)

Makes 4 smaller or 2 larger skewers.

The original recipe also adds 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine, which is left out here.

3How to make it (one example)

1. Mix the spices for grilling and put them in a shaker.

2. Cut the lamb into roughly equal pieces. Keep the chunks of fat.

3. Mix the lamb well with the onion and the marinade ingredients, and leave it in the fridge for up to 24 hours.

4. Light the charcoal and wait until the flames have died down and the coals glow.

5. Remove the onion and thread the meat onto skewers, alternating it with pieces of fat. Soak bamboo skewers in water for at least 30 minutes first.

6. Grill directly over the coals, turning often. Once the meat has darkened, season it with the spice mix a few times. It is a quick, high-heat dish: about 6 minutes in all.

4Eating and variations

In restaurants, نان is sometimes used as a kind of plate for serving the skewers. Besides the grilled kind, there is kawap baked inside a tunur.