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Bosnia and Herzegovina cuisine facts for kids

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Bosnia and Herzegovina cuisine (Bosnian: Bosanska kuhinja) is balanced between Western and Eastern influences. The food is closely related to former Yugoslav, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, Austo-Hungarian and other Balkan cuisines.

Ingredients

Bosnian cuisine uses many spices, but usually in moderate quantities. Most dishes are light, as they are cooked in lots of water; the sauces are fully natural, consisting of little more than the natural juices of the vegetables in the dish. Typical ingredients include tomatoes, potatoes, onions, garlic, bell peppers, cucumbers, carrots, cabbage, mushrooms, spinach, courgette, dried and fresh beans, plums, milk, paprika and cream called pavlaka and kajmak. Typical meat dishes include primarily beef and lamb due to Islamic dietary laws, although the Bosnian Croats and Bosnian Serbs can consume pork. Some local specialties are ćevapi, burek, dolma, sarma, pilav (pilaf), gulaš (goulash), ajvar and a whole range of Eastern sweets. The best local wines come from Herzegovina where the climate is suitable for growing grapes. Plum or apple rakija, is produced in Bosnia.

Meat dishes

Cevapcici in somun
Bosnian Ćevapi with onions in a somun
  • Ćevapi – Bosnian kebabs: small grilled minced meat links made of lamb and beef mix; served with onions, kajmak, ajvar and Bosnian pita bread (somun)
  • Pljeskavica – a patty dish
  • Begova Čorba (Bey's Stew) – a popular Bosnian soup (chorba) made of meat and vegetables
  • Filovane paprike or punjena paprika – fried bell peppers stuffed with minced meat
  • Sogan-dolma – onions stuffed with minced meat
  • Popara – bread soaked in boiling milk or water and spread with kajmak
  • Ćufte – meatballs
  • Meat under sač (meso ispod sača) – a traditional way of cooking lamb, veal, or goat under a metal, ceramic, or earthenware lid on which hot coals and ashes are heaped
  • Pilav (pilaf) – grain, such as rice or cracked wheat, browned in oil, and then cooked in a seasoned broth
  • Burek – a meat-filled flaky pastry, traditionally rolled in a spiral and cut into sections for serving. The same dish filled with cottage cheese is called sirnica, one with spinach and cheese zeljanica, one with squash/zucchini called tikvenjača, and one with potatoes krompiruša. All these varieties are generically referred to as pita (Bosnian for "pie").
  • Sarma – meat and rice rolled in pickled cabbage leaves
  • Raštika – meat and rice rolled in kale leaves
  • Grah – a traditional bean stew with meat
  • Japrak – grape leaves stuffed with meat and rice
  • Musaka – a baked dish made of layers of potatoes (or cabbage or egg plant)and minced beef
  • Bosanski Lonac – Bosnian meat stew cooked over an open fire
  • Tarhana – typical Bosnian soup with homemade pasta
  • Sudžuk – (Sujuk) – spicy beef sausage
  • Suho meso – air-dried meat similar to Italian bresaola
  • Dolma – stuffed grape leaves with rice
  • Visočka pečenica – meat dish from Visoko

Vegetable dishes

  • Đuveč – vegetable stew, similar to the Romanian ghiveci and Bulgarian gjuvec
  • Grašak – pea stew
  • Kačamak – a traditional Bosnian dish made of cornmeal and potatoes
  • Kljukuša – grated potatoes mixed with flour and water and baked in an oven; a traditional dish in the region of Bosanska Krajina
  • Sataraš – a dish made with bell peppers, eggplants, onions and tomatoes
  • Turšija – pickled vegetables
  • Buranija – green beans soup. Can be cooked with meat and sometimes served with kajmak.
  • Bamija

Appetizers

  • Meze – an assortment of meats, vegetables, or other small dishes served before a meal

Cheeses

Livanjski Cheese with label
Cheese from Livno

Desserts

Tufahiija in Morića Han 2
Tufahija
  • Baklava
  • Halva
  • Hurmašica – date-shaped pastry drenched in a sweet syrup
  • Jabukovača – pastry made of filo dough stuffed with apples
  • Kadaif
  • Krofna – filled doughnut
  • Krempita
  • Oblatna
  • Orašnica
  • Palačinka (crêpe)
  • Pekmez
  • Rahatlokum (Turkish Delight)
  • Ružica – similar to baklava, but baked in a small roll with raisins
  • Ruske Kape (trans. Russian Caps, plural)
  • Šampita – a whipped marshmallow-type dessert with fillo dough crust
  • Sutlijaš (rice pudding)
  • Tufahija – whole stewed apple stuffed with a walnut filling
  • Tulumba – deep-fried dough sweetened with syrup

Relishes, seasoning and bread

Alcoholic beverages

Wines are produced mainly in Herzegovina, in the regions of Mostar, Čitluk, Ljubuški, Stolac, Domanovići, and Međugorje.

Non-alcoholic beverages

Bosnian coffee and Croatian Bajadera
Bosnian coffee, with some Bajadera.

Kitchenware

Gallery

  • Raštika (Bosnian)

    Stuffed Collard Greens leaves

  • Sarma (Bosnian)

    Sarma

  • Begova Čorba (Baščaršija in Sarajevo, Bosnia)

    Begova Čorba at Baščaršija.

  • Sarajevski somun

    Sarajevski somun

  • Sarajevo Ćevapi (1)

    Sarajevo Ćevapi

  • Sarajevo Ćevapi (2)

    Sarajevo Ćevapi

  • Cooked corn (3)

    Cooked corn

  • Cooked corn (2)

    Cooked corn

  • Boem šnita (Sarajevo)

    Boem šnita

  • Bosanska Šnita (left)

    Bosanska Šnita

  • Sarajevski rahatlokum (Fruit mix)

    Sarajevski rahatlokum (Fruit mix)

  • Somun bread (Sarajevski Ćevapi)

    Somun bread (Sarajevski Ćevapi)

  • Bosnian Ćevapi (Sarajevo)

    Bosnian Ćevapi (Sarajevo)

  • Stuffed eggplant (Punjeni patlidžan)

    Stuffed eggplant (Punjeni patlidžan)

  • Stuffed paprikas (Hercegovacke Punjene paprike)

    Stuffed peppers

  • Sirnica (Burek)

    Cheese pie or cheese burek

  • Zeljanica (Burek)

    Spinach pie

  • Pita burek

    Bosnian pies in the shape of a wheel and strips

  • Bosnian meat platter (2)

    Bosnian meat platters

  • Pita zeljanica sirnica

    Spinach pie and cheese pie

  • Tulumba (cross section)

    Tulumba (cross section)

  • Bosnian pita

    Bosnian pies

  • Krempita Cremeschnitte (top)

    Cream pie

  • Punjene paprike (stuffed paprikas) (2)

    Stuffed peppers, tomatoes, and zucchini, oven-baked

  • Suho meso (Dry meat)

    Suho meso (Smoked meat)

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