The following highlights some of the popular Traditional Kosovan Foods. If you manage to be in an Kosovan restaurant or you are visiting Kosovo, I recommend the following:
1. Cevapcici Or Cevapi
It is a dish made up of various ingredients, the main ingredient being grilled meat, which is usually accompanied by pita bread, onions and kajmak cream. The combination of these ingredients is a real delicacy, but the garnishes can vary according to individual taste.
2. Stuffed Peppers
Stuffed peppers are popular all over the world, but fresh Kosovo peppers are usually served with ground or minced meat, vegetables and rice. Paprika and other spices are added to the mixture. Sometimes Kosovar chilli is also stuffed with kefir and cottage cheese. This dish is widely served in almost all restaurants in Kosovo.
3. Byrek Or Burek
This dish is a long-established Ottoman tradition. It consists of a breaded pastry, which is filled with white cheese, various vegetables and spiced lamb meat, chopped into small cubes. This dish is baked in the oven and the end result is simply fantastic when you take a slice out and see the cheese melted and soaked with the rest of the ingredients.
4. Leqenik
It is a very popular bread at family tables and restaurants in Kosovo. It is made from corn; it is quite popular in Kosovo and is eaten alone or stuffed with spinach and cheese. It is also often used as an accompaniment to other dishes.
5. Tulumba
This is a hot water dough fritter traditionally found in pre-Ottoman cuisines, especially in the Middle East and the Balkans. These crispy, deep-fried treats are soaked in a thick syrup, sometimes lemon-flavoured and laden with sugar. The sweet has become one of the most popular street foods and is sold by many street vendors, freshly baked on the spot and served hot, sprinkled with crushed pistachio candies.
6. Ajvar or Hajvar
This dish is a typical meal in all the countries that make up the Balkan Peninsula and it is a family tradition to use seasonal peppers and tomatoes, preserving them in jars for the winter when these products are scarce. It can be served with bread or as a flavouring for meat.
7. Krempita
This vanilla-flavoured cake is an absolute classic among Central and Eastern European desserts. It has many names, most of which come from the German cremeschnitte, which literally means cream slice or, in some cases, cream cake. It is usually sprinkled with icing sugar, but can also be covered with a smooth, glossy glaze and decorated with a traditional chevron design.
8. Sarma
This is a Balkan dish that is also available in Kosovo. “Sarma” is a tasty cabbage leaf roll stuffed with minced meat, vegetables and rice, sometimes vine leaves are used instead of cabbage leaves. Sometimes vine leaves are used instead of cabbage leaves. This dish is especially popular in Pristina.
9. Kifla or Kifli
It is an iconic pastry in Central and Eastern Europe. Its name means ‘twisted’ or ‘crescent’ in Hungarian, aptly referring to the shape of this sourdough turkey, which is often eaten for breakfast. In Serbia and North Macedonia, these breads are traditionally made with sesame seeds and cheese. In the Czech Republic, there is a whole variety called houska, which is considered the most popular bread in the country. This recipe can be said to be a variation of a croissant. They are made with basic ingredients and a simple method of cutting the sweet and sour dough into triangles, then rolling them into croissants and baking them in the oven.
10. Somun
A style of pita bread, it is the most common bread in Kosovo. It is also often eaten for breakfast and is traditionally served with eggs and sausages baked on top.
If you found this list useful, here are some more Traditional European Foods to try out on my Pinterest channel.