Döner??? Kebap??? What is this stuff???
What is DÖNER?
Döner kebap is a Turkish dish that has its origins with the invention of the vertical rotisserie in Türkiye in the 1800’s. It consists of thinly sliced, stacked cuts of meat, layered with fat and spices. Bits of the meat are sliced off as it continues to cook throughout the day, and can be made into sandwiches, wraps, topped on salads or arranged on a plate with other accompanying items like vegetables and sauces.
The word “döner” literally means “rotating” in the Turkish language, and “kebap” means “roast” or “roasted meat”.
So Why Naan??
Naan is an Indian flatbread prized for its pillowy, doughy quality. It excels in application as a sandwich vehicle. In our humble opinion, it is superior to pita or lavash for this purpose. Please don’t sue us; it’s just how we feel!!
So Is This a Kebab??
One may notice the similarity of the words “kebap”, “kabob”, and “kebab”, among other variations. These all come from the same literal root word meaning “roasted meat”, but in many parts of the world they’ve come to mean a handheld meal, usually consisting of shaved meat in a sandwich or wrap.
When referring specifically to döner kebab, it is common for the sandwich to simply be called “a döner”, or as they say in Berlin, “ein döner”.
Wait…… Berlin?!? What?!?
That’s right, döner owes most of its explosion in popularity to its proliferation as a German street food. In the 1960’s, Turkey was targeted by German adds calling for immigrants to bolster its industrial workforce. As a result, Turkish-Germans are the largest ethnic minority group in Germany, and also the largest community of the Turkish diaspora.
These immigrant Turks brought döner with them, and, over time, traditional ingredients were modified and local ingredients were sourced to make döner more familiar to the German palate. These variations, along with more traditional examples, are served at hundreds of döner stands throughout Berlin. From Berlin the phenomenon swept across Europe, and now one can find döner pretty much anywhere in the world!
So… Gyro and Shawarma… is it all the same?
The word “döner” comes from the Turkish word “turning” which refers to meat that is slowly cooked on a turning vertical rotisserie. In Greek, “gyro” refers to the same thing, and “shawarma” is a derivative of the Turkish word “çevirme” which means “something that is spun or turned over.” All those different words essentially mean the same thing (to turn), and what separates them in the modern context has more to do with the details than the overall idea.
But, because the vertical rotisserie was invented in Turkey, döner can be thought of as the progenitor of gyro and shawarma; the original vertical rotisserie meat.