Iskender kebap
Encyclopedia
İskender kebab is one of the most famous meat
foods of northwestern Turkey
and takes its name from its inventor, İskender Efendi (İskender meaning 'Alexander'), who lived in Bursa
in the late 19th century. It can be assumed to be derived from a verticalized version Cağ Kebabı
, from Erzurum
.
It is a kind of döner kebab
prepared from thinly cut grilled lamb
basted with hot tomato sauce
over pieces of pita
bread and generously slathered with melted sheep butter
and yogurt. Additionally, one cylindrical köfte can be placed on top. It is commonly consumed with şıra
as a drink to aid digestion. Tomato sauce and boiling butter are sometimes poured over the dish, at the table.
"Kebapçı İskender" is trademark
ed by Yavuz İskenderoğlu, whose family still runs the restaurant in Bursa. This dish is available in many restaurants throughout the country mostly under the name "İskender kebap", "Bursa kebabı", or at times with an alternative one made up by the serving restaurant such as "Uludağ kebabı".
It is also cited in the sources as the first ever vertical kebab
, making it also the first ever proper döner kebab. Kebapçı İskender" is trademarked by the Family İskenderoğlu, who still run the restaurants in Bursa.
Meat
Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...
foods of northwestern Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and takes its name from its inventor, İskender Efendi (İskender meaning 'Alexander'), who lived in Bursa
Bursa, Turkey
Bursa is a city in northwestern Turkey and the seat of Bursa Province. The metropolitan area in the entire Bursa province had a population of 2.6 million as of 2010, making the city fourth most populous in Turkey. The city is equally one of the most industrialized metropolitan centers in the...
in the late 19th century. It can be assumed to be derived from a verticalized version Cağ Kebabı
Cag kebab
Cağ kebabı is a rotating kebab variety, originating in Turkey's Erzurum Province. The cities of Tortum and Oltu in the said province and Yusufeli in the neighboring Artvin province are in a heated debate concerning the origin of the dish...
, from Erzurum
Erzurum
Erzurum is a city in Turkey. It is the largest city, the capital of Erzurum Province. The city is situated 1757 meters above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 361,235 in the 2000 census. .Erzurum, known as "The Rock" in NATO code, served as NATO's southeastern-most air force post during the...
.
It is a kind of döner kebab
Döner kebab
Doner kebab is a dish made of roasted meat cooked on a vertical spit. It is also known regionally as gyro , shawarma, and al pastor . It consists of shaved lamb, goat, chicken, turkey, beef, or mixed meats roasted on a spit. Less common alternatives include fish and sausage...
prepared from thinly cut grilled lamb
Domestic sheep
Sheep are quadrupedal, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Although the name "sheep" applies to many species in the genus Ovis, in everyday usage it almost always refers to Ovis aries...
basted with hot tomato sauce
Tomato sauce
A tomato sauce is any of a very large number of sauces made primarily from tomatoes, usually to be served as part of a dish...
over pieces of pita
Pita
Pita or pitta is a round pocket bread widely consumed in many Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, and Balkan cuisines. It is prevalent in Greece, the Balkans the Levant, the Arabian Peninsula and Turkey. The "pocket" in pita bread is created by steam, which puffs up the dough...
bread and generously slathered with melted sheep butter
Butter
Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying...
and yogurt. Additionally, one cylindrical köfte can be placed on top. It is commonly consumed with şıra
Sira
The sīrat rasūl allāh or al-sīra al-nabawiyya or just al-sīra, is the Arabic term used for the various traditional Muslim biographies of Muhammad from which, in addition to the Qur'an and Hadith, most historical information about his life and the early period of Islam is derived.-Etymology:In the...
as a drink to aid digestion. Tomato sauce and boiling butter are sometimes poured over the dish, at the table.
"Kebapçı İskender" is trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
ed by Yavuz İskenderoğlu, whose family still runs the restaurant in Bursa. This dish is available in many restaurants throughout the country mostly under the name "İskender kebap", "Bursa kebabı", or at times with an alternative one made up by the serving restaurant such as "Uludağ kebabı".
Differences from döner kebab
A serving of İskender kebap contains thin and wide strips of meat, on the other hand döner kebap has smaller pieces of meat. A real İskender kebap is prepared by stacking large pieces of meat vertically, which is why the meat strips are large. In lower quality restaurants, ground meat is used, which is not suitable for İskender kebap. The fat content of Iskender meat is lower than that of döner meat. İskender kebap is also served with yogurt.It is also cited in the sources as the first ever vertical kebab
Kebab
Kebab is a wide variety of meat dishes originating in Middle East and later on adopted by the Middle East, and Asia Minor, and now found worldwide. In English, kebab with no qualification generally refers more specifically to shish kebab served on the skewer...
, making it also the first ever proper döner kebab. Kebapçı İskender" is trademarked by the Family İskenderoğlu, who still run the restaurants in Bursa.
See also
- Al pastor
- Cağ kebabCag kebabCağ kebabı is a rotating kebab variety, originating in Turkey's Erzurum Province. The cities of Tortum and Oltu in the said province and Yusufeli in the neighboring Artvin province are in a heated debate concerning the origin of the dish...
- Döner kebab in the world
- DürümDurumDurum wheat or macaroni wheat is the only tetraploid species of wheat of commercial importance that is widely cultivated today...
- Gyros
- List of Kebabs
- ShawarmaShawarmaShawarma is a Levantine Arab sandwich-like wrap of shaved lamb, goat, chicken, turkey, beef, or mixed meats. The meat is placed on a spit, and may be grilled for as long as a day. It is eaten with pita bread, tabbouleh, fattoush, taboon bread, tomato and cucumber. Toppings include tahini, hummus,...
- SouvlakiSouvlakiSouvlaki or souvlakia 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 fried potatoes...