No one can count how many hundreds of centuries the dish called «shashlik» exists. Perhaps the count should be conducted from the moment when our ancestors in the goatskin decided that the meat hold over the fire & skewered on a stick is easier and tastier to chew.

A lot of water has flowed away since that time. Times, borders & customs have changed. The birth of high kitchen aesthetics took up the satiety and practicality. Many recipes were completely forgotten but not kebab.

This dish has no boundaries: it is prepared from Kamchatka to Africa, and every nation believes that it skewers are the right. Nothing complicated – meat (fish, chicken) beaded on a metal skewer and cooked over charcoal.

But we are sure that kebab can be a culinary art. We convinced in it on Championships, which were held in the trout farm "Khon Balik", organized by the Association of Cooks of Uzbekistan.

And it turned out that cooking kebab is responsible. It's not as easy as it seems at first view. Everything is important — the temperature of coals, time of marinating ingredients, and careful preparation of meat and especially fish. And how many versions of familiar dishes were invented by the chef and the Junior students of colleges! Guests were always amazed by new ideas, unusual combinations, and originality of the submission.

And of course, cooks from all sides were rained down questions, and they willingly revealed their secrets. It is possible to marinate meat in tomato sauce & milk (traditional jigar-kebab, liver), for a lightness of kiyma-of kabob (minced meat) it is necessary to beat, to freeze. Lemon and lime give the barbecue a wonderful tartness & aroma. To kebab, it is possible to submit complex sauces or just onion with spices. 

Barbeque has a special place in Uzbekistan. If in Russia it is prepared at weekends, in Uzbekistan 1 or 2 sticks are eaten almost every day for lunch with soup or pilaf. Locals know, where serving an excellent barbecue is served, and where not. It is a sacred place – people share it. In the East, the emphasis was on the meal. Real Uzbek kebab is cooked when guests sat down at the table. While they drink tea and rest, the master strung pieces of meat and sheep fat on the skewers.

Jigar-kebab – tender liver with sheep's fat, the salvation for hypotensive. To cook it the hardest. it is important not to dry, and at the same time, be sure to fry it completely.

Besh Pancha – kebab on a few sticks, crisp, fragrant, thin, literally melting in your mouth.

Kiyma (ground kebab) is one of the most popular variants in Tashkent, soft air, mostly made from beef. 

Balyk-kabob - catfish, carp, in special occasions sturgeon.

When our guests return home, they already know what real kebab is. This is both good and bad. It’s good - because they plunged into our daily tradition, and tried all kinds of kebabs. it’s bad as just a simple barbecue with ketchup will not suit them. 

So, they will raise their hands and eyes to the sky, and say: “Is this a barbecue really? That's when I was in Tashkent / Samarkand / Bukhara ... "

When you arrive in Uzbekistan, do not hesitate to ask cooks for secrets. The Uzbek are generous people, they will certainly share the secrets of mastery. Uzbek cuisine has already conquered more than half of the world. Wherever you meet Uzbek restaurants! Would they open up if there was no demand?

In Uzbekistan people support culinary traditions, are proud of their cooks, who have repeatedly won first places in numerous international competitions. And rejoice every new fan of Uzbek cuisine.