Everything about Souvlaki totally explained
» 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
fried potatoes or
pilaf. The meat is traditionally
pork in Greece and Cyprus, or in modern times increasingly
chicken. In other countries and for tourists, souvlaki may be made with other meats such as
beef,
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 (
for example with vegetables on the skewer), but it's 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).
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, marinated overnight in lemon juice and olive oil along with Greek herbs and spices such as
oregano,
mint,
thyme, etc., in a pinch. Then it's skewered on wooden skewers (the "little reeds"), broiled over charcoal, and generously
salted and
peppered.
Since in
Thessaloniki different terminology is used: the word
kalamaki is derided since it's called consistently and properly a
souvlaki; a joke suggests that anyone asking for a
kalamaki will be mockingly given a drinking straw (also called "kalamaki").
Souvlaki-merida
Merida means
portion. While souvlaki/kalamaki is eaten plain on hand as a fast food, it's also served as a full plate, served with rice, 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.
Pita
Pita is a form of unleavened flat round bread with a diameter of approximately 15 cm, used to wrap souvlaki or gyros. It comes pre-baked and will additionally be grilled on the meat drippings just before serving, unless the customer requires that it be not.
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. Any of these components may not be included, at the request of the customer. Hungry customers may occasionally request a two-pita wrapping (
diplopito) and/or a double meat serving (
dikalamo).
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) meticulously listed by the customer each time.
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's never ordered as souvlaki to the waiter or server, to avoid confusion.
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's never called souvlaki.
Cypriot Souvlaki
A large pita, consisting of pork or chicken souvlaki and
sheftalia, with tomatoes and cucumbers and white cabbage mixed within. Many seem to think lettuce is added, this is rarely the case, and only for tourists. Raw onion and parsley are very popular with souvlakia in cyprus, as are pickled green chili peppers. Like all grilled meat dishes in cyprus, souvlaka and sheftalies(the correct plural) are always accompanied by fresh lemon halves or quarters, and plain thick yoghurt or tzatziki are very popular accompaniments too.
The Pitta in which souvlakia and sheftalies are served is a little thicker than the flat pitta available in other countries.
See also Cypriot
Souvla.
Similar dishes
Meat grilled on a skewer is found in many cuisines:
French Brochette,
Portuguese Espetada,
Spanish Pinchito, Southeast Asian
Satay,
Russian Shashlik,
Turkish-
Syrian Shish kebab,
Chinese Chuanr,
Japanese Yakitori.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Souvlaki'.
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