Bosnian cuisine is expensive and not quick to prepare

Lamija Hadžiosmanović, a respected professor at the Faculty of Philosophy in Sarajevo and author of the encyclopedia “Bosanski kuhar” says that Bosnian-Herzegovinian cuisine is one of the best and most original cuisines in the world.

Unfortunately, many of our country’s traditional dishes are forgotten today. Only wealthier families and women in villages still nurture them.

And, if our domestic authorities had any sense, warns this respected professor for the BiH news agency Patria, our country’s traditional dishes could be the best ambassadors of BiH in the world. BiH, she says, is not just about ćevapi and sliced burek with pieces of meat. There are hundreds of original dishes that no country in the world can offer in the way Bosnia and Herzegovina can.

- Bosnian cuisine is expensive and not quick to prepare – says Professor Hadžiosmanović for Patria, whose “Bosanski kuhar” won the award for the best book on national dishes at the Paris Book Fair in 2010.

- That is why traditional dishes are prepared less and less. Women don’t have time now. They want to prepare something quickly, and that cannot be done with domestic cuisine – emphasizes Hadžiosmanović.

Ramadan is an opportunity for some domestic dishes to at least appear on the table during this holy month. Thus, only on these occasions do some Sarajevo families prepare ramadan topa, ramadan soup, ramadan slow burek, or ramadan halva.

- You know, even topa is not that cheap and simple if you want to make it the way our mothers originally made it. It includes sweet kajmak, salty kajmak, mileram, dried Visoko cheese, and butter, and these are all expensive products - explains Hadžiosmanović.

- Ramadan dishes should be a bit richer - she says. And, Bosnia and Herzegovina also has cheaper dishes.

- You don’t always have to prepare roasted lamb or shish ćevapi; you can make potato kljukuša with cabbage salad, which is wonderful. Also, baklava doesn’t always have to be on the table; halva is also very good - she adds.

Every region in Bosnia has its typical dishes, although they are very similar in all regions. Cuisine in Herzegovina is, says Hadžiosmanović, somewhat different. Housewives there prefer to serve rice pilaf, dried meat, young lamb, and other dishes, writes Patria.