The Ancient Kebab

The medieval cooks of Baghdad used a specialized set of terms related to grilling and roasting activities. Shawi was reserved for roasting large marinated cuts of meat in the tannour clay oven, such as whole sides of ribs, whole stuffed kids or birds, marinated slices of meat, probably a span long, dangling from large skewers. Enclosed in the tannour, all these big meat cuts get the moisture they need for slow prolonged roasting. Etymologically, the grilling technique shawi, as well as the oven itself, tannour, both derive directly from the ancient Akkadian, ‘shuwu’ and ‘tinuru,’ respectively. Now we come to the realm of open grilling.