Souvlaki
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the Greek food. For the album by Slowdive, see Souvlaki (album).
Souvlaki (Greek: Σουβλάκι) is a popular Greek fast food consisting of small pieces of meat and sometimes vegetables grilled on a skewer. It may be served on the skewer for eating out of hand, in a pita sandwich with garnishes and sauces, or on a dinner plate, often with pilaf. The meat is traditionally pork in Greece, or in modern times increasingly chicken. In other countries and for tourists, souvlaki may be made with other meats such as lamb and sometimes fish (especially swordfish).
The terminology of souvlaki and its variants is confusing and inconsistent. Depending on the context, the term 'souvlaki' by itself may refer to any of the variants. In some regions and some restaurants, the name shish kebab is used to denote a particular variant of souvlaki[citation needed] (e.g. with vegetables on the skewer), but it is essentially a synonym. In many regions, primarily Athens and the south of Greece, a gyros sandwich is nicknamed a 'souvlaki'.
The word souvlaki is a diminutive of souvla (skewer), itself ultimately derived from the Latin subula (awl).
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[edit] Kalamaki
Kalamaki (little reed) is a synonym for souvlaki proper in Athens, in order to differientate it from other forms of souvlaki.
For Kalamaki, the meat is cubed into 1-inch chunks. Marinaded overnight in lemon juice and olive oil along with Greek spices such as oregano in a pinch. Then it's skewered on wooden skewers and broiled over charcoal.
Since in Thessaloniki different terminology is used, the word Kalamaki is frowned upon since it is called consistently and properly as souvlaki; a joke suggests that anyone asking for a kalamaki will be mockingly given a drinking straw (also called "kalamaki").
[edit] Souvlaki-merida
Merida means portion. While souvlaki/kalamaki is eaten plain on hand as a fast food, it is also served as a full plate, accompanied with salad, sauce, and pita bread. Usually it consists of the ingredients of a souvlaki-pita (see below), but laid out on a plate, instead of wrapped together for take-out. See above picture to visualise how the dish occasionally looks.
[edit] Pita
Pita is a form of unkneaded round bread with a diameter of approximately 15 cm that it is used to wrap souvlaki or gyros. In Thessaloniki any pita-wrapped souvlaki is referred to as a "sandwich", with its desired ingredients (meat and its method of preparation, plus each and every condiment) meticoulously listed by the customer each time.
[edit] Souvlaki-pita
This course consists of souvlaki meat garnished with sliced tomatoes and onions, sauced with tzatziki, and wrapped in a lightly grilled pita. When chicken is used instead of pork meat, tzatziki and onions are replaced with a special sauce and lettuce to be compatible with its taste; Various other garnishes and sauces are possible, including shredded lettuce, paprika, fried potatoes, ketchup, and mustard, though these are considered heretical by purists. It is also called pita kalamaki.
[edit] Gyros-pita
Similar to souvlaki pita. The souvlaki is replaced by gyros (kebab usually made of pork or chicken). This is also nicknamed souvlaki in common speech due to its resemblance to the above, and because gyros meat is rotated on a mechanical skewer; despite this, it is never ordered as souvlaki to the waiter or server, to avoid confusion.
[edit] Gyros-merida
Like souvlaki merida, gyros merida is the ingredients of a gyros-pita, served on a plate. Replace kalamaki with gyros. Gyros merida is the only related plate that is never called souvlaki.
[edit] Similar dishes
Meat grilled on a skewer is found in many cuisines: French Brochette, Portuguese Espetada, Southeast Asian Satay, Russian Shashlik, Turkish Shish kebab, Japanese Yakitori.
[edit] External links
- Souvlaki: The Hamburger of Greece A site describing the various forms of souvlaki, and explaining the variations of its terminology for tourists.
