Ćevapi, burek and the Bosnian table: the back story

About Ćevapi, burek and the Bosnian table: the back story

By the ULTIMATE Sarajevo Editorial Team

Sarajevo eats with real pride. The smell of the grill drifts through Baščaršija from morning to night, and the pita shops are full at breakfast. You do not need a big budget to eat brilliantly here, just a good appetite.

Ćevapi

Sarajevo ćevapi are small sausages of minced beef grilled over charcoal and served in somun, a soft, round flatbread warmed on the grill, with chopped raw onion and, if you like, kajmak, a rich clotted cream. Order five or ten. The ćevabdžinice of Baščaršija, such as Željo, Ferhatović, Hodžić and Mrkva, each have their loyal fans, and arguing about which is best is a local pastime.

Pita and burek

Pita is the Bosnian pie: thin, hand-stretched dough rolled around a filling and baked in a spiral. In Bosnia, only the meat version is called burek; with cheese it is sirnica, with spinach zeljanica and with potato krompiruša. The best come from a buregdžinica, baked “ispod sača”, under an iron bell covered with embers, and are eaten with yoghurt.

In Sarajevo, ćevapi are not fast food. They are a ritual.

The aščinica

An aščinica is a traditional cook-house where dishes simmer for hours and you choose from the counter: Bosnian pot (bosanski lonac), stuffed peppers and onions (dolma and sogan-dolma), begova čorba, the bey’s soup of chicken and okra, and klepe, small dumplings with garlic yoghurt.

Sweet things

Baklava soaked in syrup, tufahija (a poached apple stuffed with walnuts and topped with cream) and hurmašice are served with coffee in the old town’s cake shops.

How to order

Ask for “mala” or “velika” portion of ćevapi (five or ten), add kajmak, and drink yoghurt with your pita. Many grills are alcohol-free, and the best are busiest at lunchtime.

Our advice: eat ćevapi at least twice, at two different places, so you can join the argument; have pita for breakfast at a buregdžinica; and book one evening at a restaurant such as Kibe Mahala, 4 Sobe Gospođe Safije or Hedona for a slower dinner with a view or a wine list. Save room for tufahija.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Ćevapi, burek and the Bosnian table: the back story before you go.