It Is Time to Eat “çebiç”

Let’s mention about one of the most special flavours of Konya. “Çebiç” is a kind meal cooked with lamb or kid meat in tandoori. In the past, if çebiç was cooked in a house, you would go there in the morning. Lamb liver was grilled and served for breakfast, and lamb cooked in tandoori served with bulgur pilaf for lunch. People in Konya think that çebiç is more delicious in September, because the lamb in this period is fully mature and it adds a different flavour to the dish. You should try this recipe that meat lovers will love. Bon Appétit!

Ingredients

1 kid or lamb (not one year old) 2 cups strained yogurt

1 cup of tomato paste

1 onion

5 cloves of garlic

2 tablespoons of salt 10 -15 shallots

Recipe

First, cut the lamb on the day it will be hung in the tandoori. Take the horns and skin it without removing the head. Remove the internal organs. Do these operations very carefully and cleanly. Because you should not wash the animal so that it does not get watered, and if you do, you should dry it very well with a clean cloth. Chop the onions very finely and crush the garlic. Mix onion, garlic, yoghurt, tomato paste and salt in a bowl, rub the outside and inside of the lamb with this sauce. With a long pointed knife, place the diced onions and garlic on the buttocks of the animal. If the liver is not going to be used for breakfast, put the liver, heart and kidneys in the stomach. Let it rest for 2 hours in a tray. Tie the four legs of the lamb securely together with wire. Place its head between its feet and thread a sturdy iron skewer between its bound feet. Pass a wire around the waist so that it does not fall while cooking. When the tandoori is on fire, and it reaches medium temperature (bread baking temperature), put a large pot half full of water to collect the lamb's water. Let the lamb hang on the tandoori with its back down, leaving the ends of the iron skewers out. Cover the mouth of the tandoor with a sheet metal and plaster it with mud and varnish in an airtight manner. Close the bottom of the tandoor (air vent) with mud and varnish. Let the çebiç be cooked. The cooking time depends on whether the animal is fresh, old, weak or well-fed. Young and weak animals are cooked in 1-1.5 hours; the fat and old ones in 2.5-3.5 hours. Check the tandoori frequently during cooking and apply polish to the airy areas. When the lamb is cooked, gently tap the edges of the sheet metal to remove the mud, lift the sheet, take the lamb out by holding both ends of the iron and untie the wires. Make bulgur pilaf by chopping the liver, heart and kidneys cooked in oily water in the pan at the bottom of the tandoori. Place the rice in a tray large enough to hold the lamb. Remove the lamb's head from between its feet and place it on the rice. Decorate the edges of the rice on the tray with a row of parsley and seasonal flowers and serve.