Kawap

Uyghur lamb skewers belong to the wider Central Asian shashlik tradition stretching from the Caucasus to Mongolia, but the Xinjiang version is distinguished by cumin (zira), which arrived via the Silk Road and became the defining Uyghur grill spice. Street kawap stalls have anchored every Uyghur town and Han Chinese city's night-market scene since at least the 1980s.

Cumin (zira) reached Xinjiang via the Silk Road and became the defining grill spice — that's what separates kawap from Caucasian shashlik. Fat-tail sheep fat alternates between every two lean cubes; without it the lean dries by the second bite.

Lamb chunks (fat and lean alternating) on a thin metal skewer, grilled fast over open coals — the fat drips, flares, and chars the lean. Cumin and chili powder are dusted on twice: once on the grill, once as the skewer comes off. Eaten straight from the stick. Salt is the only other seasoning; the lamb should taste of itself.

Fat-to-lean alternation is the rule: a chunk of fat-tail sheep fat between every two lean cubes. As the fat renders over the coals, it bastes the lean — without it, the meat goes dry by the second bite. Skewers go on hot coals briefly (3–4 minutes a side), never on flame; the goal is rendered fat and a crust, not throughgrilled grey meat.