Shashlik (from Turkic shish = skewer) is the universal street food and restaurant staple of Uzbekistan.
Types: - Lamb shashlik — the classic. Cubes of lamb shoulder marinated in onion juice, vinegar, salt, cumin. Threaded on flat metal skewers alternating with fat cubes. - Jigar (liver) — lamb liver cubes wrapped in tail fat. Charred outside, pink inside. - Lyulya — minced lamb formed into cylinders on the skewer. Spiced with cumin and coriander. - Beef (govyadina) — common, slightly cheaper. - Chicken (toyuq) — often whole legs or wings on a skewer. - Kartoshka (potato) — potato chunks threaded on a skewer and grilled. Vegetarian option.
The standard serving: - 1 skewer = ~150g meat + fat - Served on the skewer with: - Sliced raw white onion - White vinegar splash - Sumac powder - Fresh non bread - Achichuk salad (tomato-onion-cucumber)
Where to eat: - Bazaar grills — every bazaar has a shashlik row. Order by pointing at the type. 1 skewer: 25,000–40,000 UZS ($2–3). - Chaikhanas — order 2–3 skewers per person as the main course. - Specialist shashlik restaurants — Tashkent has dedicated houses; Bukhara has several along the Samani Park road.
Vegetarian note: outside of kartoshka (potato) shashlik, vegetarian options at grill stalls are limited to salads and non.
Uzbekistan in photos
A short visual companion to this entry — photographs from our Uzbekistan travel archive.
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