Small skinless grilled sausages of minced meat, served in flatbread with raw onion — the everyday grill food of Bosnia and the wider Balkans.
An Ottoman legacy
Ćevapi belong to the family of grilled minced-meat dishes that spread with the Ottoman Empire, related to the kofta and kebab traditions of Anatolia and the Middle East. They are eaten across the Balkans, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Croatia all have established versions.
Sarajevo and Banja Luka are particularly associated with the dish, and each has a characteristic style — differing in size, in whether the pieces are grilled joined together or separately, and in the bread used.
They are ordinary, everyday food rather than celebration food: sold in dedicated grill houses that often serve little else, and eaten at any hour.
Making them
The mixture is minced beef, often with lamb, and in some recipes a proportion of mutton. Pork is generally absent, reflecting the dish's origins in a predominantly Muslim context.
The meat is worked thoroughly with garlic, salt, pepper and usually a little bicarbonate of soda, which affects texture and helps the mixture hold together without any casing. It is then rested, sometimes overnight, before shaping.
They are rolled into short, finger-thick cylinders. Skinless is essential — the exterior chars directly against the grill, and there is no casing to snap.
Bread, onion, kajmak
Cooking is over charcoal, fast and hot, so the outside browns while the inside stays juicy. They are counted out by the portion — typically five or ten to an order.
They are served inside somun or lepinja, a soft flatbread that is warmed on the grill and often pressed against the meat so it absorbs the fat. Finely chopped raw onion is standard and generous.
Kajmak, a rich clotted dairy spread, is the classic addition, and ajvar — a relish of roasted red pepper and aubergine — is common. Cutlery is optional at best.
