 Souvlaki in Athens, known there also as kalamaki | |
| Place of origin | Greece |
|---|---|
| Region or state | Greece, Cyprus |
| Associatedcuisine | Greek cuisine,Cypriot cuisine |
| Main ingredients | Various meats, herbs, spices and marinades |
Souvlaki (Greek:σουβλάκι,IPA:[suˈvlaci]; plural:σουβλάκια,romanized: souvlákia) is aGreek food item consisting of small pieces of meat and sometimes vegetables grilled on askewer. It is usually eaten straight off the skewer while still hot. It can be served with or inside a rolledpita, typically withlemon,sauces, vegetables such as sliced tomato and onion, andfried potatoes as a side. The meat usually used inGreece andCyprus ispork.[1]
The wordsouvlaki is adiminutive of theMedieval Greeksoúvla (σούβλα, 'skewer') itself borrowed from Latinsubula.[2][3]Souvlaki is the common term inMacedonia and other regions ofnorthern Greece, while insouthern Greece and aroundAthens it is commonly known askalamaki (καλαμάκι, 'smallreed' or 'little straw').
InGreek culture, the practice of cooking food on spits orskewers dates to theBronze Age.[4] Excavations inSantorini,Greece, unearthedsets of stone cooking supports used by the natives of the island before theThera eruption of the 17th century BC; souvlaki was "a popular delicacy in Santorini back in 2000 BC".[5] In the stone cooking supports, there are pairs of indentations that were likely used for holding skewers and the line of holes in the base allowed thecoals to be supplied with air.[6]
InMycenaean Greece, "souvlaki trays" were discovered inGla,Mycenae, andPylos.[4] The "souvlaki trays" (or portable grills) used by the Mycenaean Greeks were rectangular ceramic pans that sat underneath skewers of meat.[4] It is not clear whether these trays would have been placed directly over a fire or if the pans would have held hot coals like a portable barbecue pit.[4][7] Spit supports appear to "continue in use into theEarly Iron Age atNichoria".[4] InGreek literature,Homer in theIliad (1.465) mentions pieces of meat roasted on spits (ὀβελός); this is also mentioned in the works ofAristophanes,[8]Xenophon,[9]Aristotle,[10] and others.[11][12] InClassical Greece, a small spit or skewer was known asὀβελίσκος (obelískos),[13] andAristophanes mentions such skewers being used to roastthrushes.[14]
In theByzantine Empire, the Greek author of theProdromic Poems (4.231) mentions "the hot meat shops" ofConstantinople providing clients with spit-roasting meat slices similar to souvlaki known aspsenasis souglitarea.[15]
Modern-daysouvlaki was described byGustave Flaubert, aFrench traveler, who observed Greeks "grilling pieces of meat on a bamboo stick" during his visit to theBoeotian countryside of southernCentral Greece in 1850.[16] However, modern-day souvlaki was not widely distributed in Greece until afterWorld War II.[16] Souvlaki skewers served as fast food started to be sold widely in the 1960s, after being introduced by vendors from Boeotia.[16] The first known use of the wordsouvlaki inEnglish was in 1942.[17]
Kalamaki (καλαμάκι meaning "smallreed") is a synonym for souvlaki proper inAthens where the wordsouvlaki is used colloquially for any kind of pita wraps. Kalamaki can also be accompanied with vegetables such as tomato, peppers, and onions, and a sauce, with lemon wedges. There are some places in Greece where kalamaki is not connected in any way to souvlaki such asThessaloniki; in these regions, souvlaki refers to the dish that in Athens is called kalamaki.
Merída (μερίδα) meansportion in Greek. While souvlaki is eaten plain as a fast food, it is also served as a full plate, served with fried potatoes, vegetables, sauce, and quarteredpita bread. Usually it consists of the ingredients of a souvlaki-pita (see below) laid out on a plate. Pork is mostly used, but others can be used, such as chicken or lamb.
Souvlaki-pita consists of grilled souvlaki meat folded in a lightly grilled pita along with slicedtomatoes andonions, andtzatziki sauce,[18] andfried potatoes on the side – though increasingly they may be added to the folded pita. This variation is prominent at outlets run by Melbourne'sGreek-Australian community.
In some areas, when chicken is used instead of pork, tzatziki and onions are replaced with a special yellow mustard sauce andlettuce. Other garnishes andsauces includektipiti,Russian salad, andmelitzanosalata.
InCorfu, a special tomato sauce is added to souvlaki, plainly called "red sauce" (κόκκινη σάλτσα).
InCyprus, souvlaki can refer both to the small chunks of meat on a skewer, and to the dish. It is made with a large pita that has a pocket-style opening. Into this is placed the meat (traditionally lamb or pork, more recentlysheftalia or chicken), which in Cypriot souvlaki is cut into slightly larger chunks. Tomatoes, cucumbers and shredded white cabbage are the usual salad additions.Onion,parsley, and pickled greenchili peppers are common accompaniments, as are yogurt and tzatziki. Cut lemons are always included with souvlaki, as they are with all grilled meats in Cyprus. Lettuce is not traditional and is seldom used in souvlaki outside of tourist resorts.[citation needed]
