Kebapche

Bulgarian kebapcheta

Macedonian ḱebapčinja

Kebapche (Bulgarian: кебапче, plural: кебапчета, kebapcheta; Macedonian: ќебапче, plural: ќебапчиња, ḱebapčinja) is a dish of grilled minced meat with spices. The meat is shaped into an elongated cylindrical form, similar to a hot dog. Typically, a mix of pork and beef is used, although some recipes involve only pork. The preferred spices are black pepper, cumin and salt. Kebapche is a grilled food. It is never fried or baked.

A typical addition to a kebapche meal are chips (French fries), often covered with grated sirene (fresh white cheese similar to feta); lyutenitsa is sometimes used as a dip. The expression a three kebapcheta with sides (тройка кебапчета с гарнитура, troika kebapcheta s garnitura) is particularly well-known. The preferred drink to go with a kebapche is beer.

The word kebapche is derived from kebab, –che is a diminutive Bulgarian neutral suffix, i.e. a "little kebab". A dish similar to kebapche and often combined with it is kyufte, which is often the same in terms of meat and spices but round-shaped. It often includes onions and parsley, which kebapche does not.

It is essentially the same dish as former Yugoslav ćevapčići, but the Bulgarian kebapcheta are typically larger.

See also

• Ćevapčići, a Balkan dish
• Mici (Mititei), a Romanian dish

References

• "Recipe Kebapches" (PDF). Bulgaria Travel. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
• Georgieff, Anthony (2008-11-01). "The rise and fall of the Bulgarian kebapche". Vagabond. Vagabond Media Ltd. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
• Паунов, Радко (2013-08-18). "В Бачково разкриха тайната на истинското кебапче". 24 часа (in Bulgarian). Archived from the original on 2016-04-18. Retrieved 29 August 2015.