Kebabs have been an important part of British street food for decades, but Lanzarote has been slow to catch up. Ramesh Saraswati, of the popular restaurant Indian Delights, has just opened his very own Kebab shop.
Kebab is a Turkish word, but the basic technique of grilling marinated meat can be found from Morocco to India and beyond, under names such as gyros, souvlaki, and shawarma. In Spain, pinchos morunos are a grilled meat dish with roots in Arabia.
The little individual skewers that are the basis of a kebab have been replaced by a large cylinder of marinated meat that is grilled slowly, with thin slices being carved off to be served. They are usually served, sandwich-style, in a pitta bread or a wrap, with various garnishes and sauces of your choice. It’s the perfect meal for a sit-down feast or a takeaway treat.
Ramesh Saraswati, who has established Indian Delights as one of the finest places to dine on the island, is behind the Kebab House: “When setting up the Kebab shop in Playa Blanca, the most difficult aspects were sourcing high-quality kebab grills and finding experienced staff, “he says “Luckily, we have that now.”
Ramesh explains the technique of creating this delicacy: “You must marinate all the meat strips in spices and then skewer them on top of each other until you have a tall stack. Then that is put on the kebab grill for hours, as we slice pieces from it for each portion.”
“When making a Doner wrap we take slices of the delicious meat from the grill, lay it on an open wrap with the sauce of choice, followed by lettuce, tomato, onion, and olives. Finally, we wrap it tightly with foil to keep everything together and then it goes back onto the heat.”
Ramesh says “To make good kebabs you must buy quality meat – the highest-grade meat will make for the tastiest kebabs. Of the meat that we offer, chicken has by far been the best-selling.”
Be sure to follow the new Kebab House on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kebabhouselanzarote/
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