This is a sweet bread, usually baked with a cross or other religious symbol made out of dough on top. It is served during Slava, a special day for feasting and sharing with friends. (Slava is a religious time to commemorate the day that each Serbian family’s ancestors became Christians in the Sixth Century. Each family has a patron saint.)
Ćevapi (Cyrillic: ћевапи, pronounced [tɕeʋǎːpi]) or ćevapčići (formal diminutive; Cyrillic: ћевапчићи, pronounced [tɕeʋǎptʃitɕi]) is a grilled dish of minced meat found traditionally in the countries of southeast Europe (the Balkans). It is considered a national dish of Bosnia and Herzegovina,[Croatia, and Serbia, and is also common in Montenegro, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Slovenia, and Albania.
Ćevapi has its origins in the Balkans during the Ottoman period and represents a regional specialty similar to the köfte kebab.
They are usually served in groups of five to ten pieces on a plate or in a flatbread (lepinje or somun), often with chopped onions, sour cream, kajmak, ajvar, feta cheese, minced red pepper, and salt. Bosnian ćevapi are made from two types of minced beef meat, hand-mixed and formed with a funnel, while formed ćevapi are grilled. Serbian ćevapčići are made of either beef, lamb, or pork or mixed.
The word ćevap is derived from the Turkish kebab. The word is sometimes used in conjunction with the common South Slavic diminutive ending -čići (Serbo-Croatian: ćevapi/ćevapčići / ћевапи/ћевапчићи; Macedonian: ќебапчиња, romanized: ḱebapčinja; Albanian: Qebapa/Qofte; Bulgarian: кебапчета, romanized: kebapcheta; Czech: čevabčiči; Slovak: čevapčiči; Slovene: čevapčiči). The word ćevapi is plural; the singular form ćevap is rarely used, as a typical serving consists of several ćevapi.
Ražnjići is a popular Balkan specialty of grilled meat on a skewer, equivalent of the Greek souvlaki and Turkish şaşlık. The name is derived from “ražanj” meaning “skewer”
