"Kebab", or the way the meat turns, is derived from Arabic word "cabob", a distortion of the Aramaic word "kabbaba" or "kababu" meaning to burn or char, says Monish Gujral, who manages the Moti Mahal chain of restaurants and has put together around 100 kebab recipes from across the world in a new book "On the Kebab Trail" (Penguin India), tracing the origin of the dish in Turkey and its journey to the Indian sub-continent.
Thirteenth century Moroccan traveller Ibn Batuta records that kebabs were served in royal houses and even enjoyed by commoners for breakfast with naan.
In India, the history of the kebab is marked by rivalries between chefs over recipes, ingredients and whims of kings, who wanted their meat cooked in particular ways.
