Shashlyk or Shashlik (Russian: шашлык meaning skewing meat and -lik, a noun-making suffix' [1][2], Persian: شیشلیک, Hebrew: שישליק), is a form of Shish kebab popular throughout the former Soviet Union, parts of Eastern Europe, Mongolia, and Israel. Shashlyk is originally lamb (in some extent pork or beef) depending on local preferences and religious observances. These skewers of meat are either all meat, all fat, or alternating pieces of meat, fat, and vegetables such as bell pepper, onion and tomato.
Meat for shashlik (as opposed to other forms of shish kebab) is usually marinated overnight in a high-acidity marinade like vinegar, dry wine or sour fruit/vegetable juice with the addition of herbs and spices. While it is not unusual to see shashlik listed on the menu of restaurants, it is more commonly sold in Western Asia by street vendors who roast the skewers over wood, charcoal, or coal. Shashlyk is usually cooked on a grill called a mangal. For example in Poland szaszłyk is popular as a form of fast-food and often appears on bustling restaurants menus (pronounced shash-wik).[3]