Souvla () is a popular dish from

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. It consists of large pieces of meat cooked on a long skewer over a charcoal barbecue. It differs from the popular Greek dish

souvlaki Souvlaki (, , ; plural: , ) is a Greek food item consisting of small pieces of meat and sometimes vegetables grilled on a skewer. It is usually eaten straight off the skewer while still hot. It can be served with or inside a rolled pita, typica ...

, in that meat cuts are much larger and slow cooked for a much longer period at a greater distance from the hot

charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, ca ...

. Traditional souvla is made from the neck and shoulder of lamb, pork and chicken. The meat is cut on the bone into chunks about the size of a medium onion (optional). The meat must be put on a charcoal brazier, called "foukou" in Cypriot Greek (), then its weight is evenly distributed on the rotisserie, so it cooks evenly on the foukou. The meat is put as far as possible from the charcoal at first. After it is sizzling, it is lowered down to the charcoal so that the skin on the meat goes brown. The process takes between 90 minutes and 3 hours depending on the type of meat, size and heat of fire. Salt, aromatics (such as oregano), oil, and wine are sprinkled or brushed on the meat once the cooking process is well under way. That way the meat stays juicy and does not brown too quickly. Over time, various localities have developed their own recipes, which tend to vary the spices added to the meat marinade. A popular variant is ''Lysiotiki souvla'', originating from the village of Lysi. Typically, souvla in Greece refers to a whole spit-roasted lamb (ovelias, in Greek "Οβελίας") for Easter and other major holidays or specialist restaurants; the Greek dish most similar to souvla is kontosouvli, large pieces of pork cut from the bone, and

kokoretsi Kokoretsi or kokoreç is a dish of the Balkans and Anatolia (Asia Minor), consisting of lamb or goat intestines wrapped around seasoned offal, including sweetbreads, heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans ...

(lamb innards/offal rolled into a large sausage), or a speciality of the cook in that region of the country. Cypriots mostly eat souvla to celebrate occasions such as

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

etc.

References

{{Cuisine of Cyprus Cypriot cuisine Greek cuisine

See also

References