Ćevapi

Ćevapi (pronounced /tɕɛv̞ǎːpi/) or ćevapčići (formal, /tɕɛv̞ǎptʃitɕi/, Serbian ћевапчићи) is a grilled dish of minced meat, a type of , found traditionally in the countries of. They are considered a national dish in and in. They are also common in, , , as well as in , , , , and the.



They are usually served of 5-10 pieces on a plate or in a ( or somun), often with chopped, , , , , minced , and. Serb ćevapčići are made of either beef, lamb or pork or mixed. Bosnian ćevapi are made from two types of minced meat, hand mixed and formed with a funnel, while formed ćevapi are grilled. While Macedonian, Croatian, Bulgarian and Romanian varieties are often made of both pork and beef.

Etymology
The word comes from the word, sometimes with the   ending -čići (, : ćevapčići/ćevapi; : čevapčiči/čevapi;  Ћевапчићи/Ћевапи, ćevapčići/ćevapi;  Ќебапи, kjebapi;  Кебапчета, kebapcheta;  čevabčiči). For more on the word's history, see.

In Romanian, they are known as mici or mititei.

In other parts of the world, such as, they are known by their traditional name as well as the and marketing friendly term "skinless sausages."

History
Ćevapčići has its origins in the s during the expansion into southeastern  and developed through the Middle Ages into a regional specialty similar to the kofte.

In Bosnia, there are varieties of versions of the dish such as e.g. Travnički ćevapi from the traditionally cattle area of, canonical Sarajevski ćevap from  area, that look similar but taste slightly different due to variations in seasoning and meat content (some varieties containing  or other non-pork meats), as well as Banjalučki ćevap which differs not only in taste but also by being grilled and served in connected tuples (usually of four). In all cases the dish is kept simple, and traditionally served in with  and/or  and  or  as apetizer, whereas outside Bosnia, it's common for ćevapi to be served with variety of vegetables and seasonings.

In Serbia, there is a local variety of leskovački ćevap whose recipe is based on traditional Serbian pljeskavica but formed as a somewhat larger sausage (ćevap). It is named after the city of, which now organizes the yearly as a showcase of ćevapi and other grilled meat. The version in Leskovac uses only and, no pork. In, ćevapčići first came from Leskovac in the 1860s, into the "Rajić" at the Great Marketplace (today ), from where they have quickly spread across the city. Before the 1930s, they spread to the rest of the former, including east of Serbia and. In 1933, the first street vendor with food appeared in, who came from Leskovac, and served grilled meat, including ćevapčići.

In, the and , čevapčiči is generally served with  mixed with finely chopped raw  and  or French fries, in a common fast food manner.