Mangal (barbecue)

Mangal (Armenian: Մանղալ, Azerbaijani: manqal, Turkish: mangal, Persian: منقل‎‎, Hebrew: מנגל‎, Russian: мангал) is the Middle Eastern name for barbecue, referring both to the event and the grilling apparatus itself.

Etymology

The word mangal is Turkish, derived from the Arabic word manqal (منقل) meaning "portable" and originally referred to portable indoors heaters mostly replaced by Western-type stoves.

Culinary

The menu always has a kind of meat. A typical mangal meal will consist of grilled vegetables, kebabs of various kinds and meatballs named köfte. Grilled chicken wings, chicken breasts and offal is also common. Salads and other cold foods accompany the meal. In Turkey, şalgam or ayran are common drinks during mangal parties as well as rakı.

Sociality

Beyond just consuming food, mangal often means a family or friends gathering. Generally held in gardens or picnic areas, it stresses the hospitality towards the guests. Accordingly, it resembles braai of South Africa and its local equivalents worldwide.

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  Postal stamp of Tajikistan: "Oriental bazaar" displaying an old man grilling shashliks on a mangal

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  Israeli-style mangal

• Mangal-Moscow.JPG

  A shashlyk being prepared on a mangal in Moscow, Russia

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  Arrosticini, a similar dish typical of central Italy, being cooked on a "canala"

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  Some chicken wings mangal prepared for picnic in Turkey

See also

• Armenian cuisine
• Azerbaijani cuisine
• Turkish cuisine
• Syrian cuisine
• Lebanese cuisine
• Iranian cuisine
• Israeli cuisine
• Palestinian cuisine
• Jordanian cuisine
• Egyptian cuisine