 Souvlaki ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Greek - Greek : Σουβλάκι) or souvlakia is a popular http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_cuisine - Greek http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_food - fast food consisting of small pieces of meat and sometimes vegetables grilled on a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skewer - skewer . It may be served on the skewer for eating out of hand, in a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pita - pita http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandwich - sandwich with garnishes and sauces, or on a dinner plate, often with http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_fries - fried potatoes or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilaf - pilaf . The meat is traditionally http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pork - pork in Greece and Cyprus, or in modern times increasingly http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken - chicken . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Souvlaki#cite_note-0 - [1] In other countries and for tourists, souvlaki may be made with other meats such as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beef - beef , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestic_sheep - lamb and sometimes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish - fish (especially http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swordfish - 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 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shish_kebab - shish kebab is used to denote a particular variant of souvlaki[ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed - citation needed ] (e.g. with vegetables on the skewer), but it is essentially a synonym.
The word souvlaki is a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diminutive - diminutive of souvla (skewer), itself cognate with the Latin subula.
History
Souvalaki is attested in Greece since http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece - antiquity and it was known with the name οβελίσκος (obeliskos) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Souvlaki#cite_note-1 - [2] , dim. of όβελος (obelos), "spit" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Souvlaki#cite_note-2 - [3] , mentioned amongst others in the works of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristophanes - Aristophanes ("Acharnians" 1007, "Clouds" 178, "Wasps" 354, "Birds" 388, 672), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenophon - Xenophon ("Hellenica" HG3.3.7), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotle - Aristotle ("Politics" 1324b19), etc. A meat and bread recipe which resembles the way pita souvlaki is served today, with pita bread was also attested by Athenaeus in The Deipnosophists and called the plate kandaulos. However it is likely that the skewered meat, souvlaki-like recipe has existed as a favourite in ancient Greece since at least Archaic times, as the earliest references are attested in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homer - Homer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Souvlaki#cite_note-3 - [4] .
Kalamaki
Kalamaki ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diminutive - little http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reed_%28plant%29 - reed ) is a synonym for souvlaki proper in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athens - 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 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregano - oregano and on occasion http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thyme - thyme , etc., in a pinch. Then it is skewered on wooden skewers (the "little reeds"), broiled over charcoal, and generously http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt - salted and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_pepper - peppered .
Since in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thessaloniki - Thessaloniki different terminology is used: the word kalamaki is derided since it is called consistently and properly a souvlaki; a joke suggests that any Athenian visiting Thessaloniki, ask for a kalamaki he will be mockingly given a drinking straw (also called "kalamaki"). |