Lunch & Dinner

In the Western Balkans, lunch is the most important meal of the day. It is usually eaten around 3 PM, though it can vary depending on work and school, so it can be anywhere from 2 PM to 5 PM.

Traditionally, the whole family is present for the lunch, especially on the weekends. The lunch is always served with bread, which is a necessary side dish, and sometimes with cheese and salad. Lunch is often consisted of soup and the main course. Dessert is rare.

When it comes to dinner, it is eaten quite late when compared with other countries – usually around 8 or 9 PM. Some people may just eat a sandwich for dinner, but other times, they eat some sort of a pie or another baked dish, or pasta.

In this article, we are going to talk about the traditional and common main course dishes served for lunch and, in some cases, for dinner.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Stuffed Bell Pepper or Punjena paprika is a bell pepper stuffed with ground or minced beef or pork, and rice. The pepper opening is sometimes filled with a tomato slice.

Stuffed peppers are commonly eaten for lunch and rarely for dinner. Because it is required to use fresh bell peppers for this dish, they are mostly eaten in the summer.

Traditionally, stuffed bell peppers are served with bread and mashed potatoes.

Đuveč

Đuveč is a vegetarian dish that comes from the Serbian province of Vojvodina. It is made of various ingredients, including rice, potatoes, sweet peppers, tomatoes, carrots, and other vegetables, herbs and spices.

Although traditionally a vegetarian meal, some people add meat to it. It is often served with pork rotisserie, French fries or baked potatoes, and cheese.

Đuveč is eaten for lunch and rarely for dinner.

Sataraš

Sataraš (also Bećarac and Bećir-Paprikaš) is a meal that is originally Hungarian, but has found its place on Serbian dining tables, where it is eaten quite frequently.

The basic sataraš is made of sweet peppers, tomatoes and onion. Some people add eggs to the meal, usually at the end of the cooking. There are several sataraš variations; in some cases, vegetables such as eggplant, carrots and zucchini are added to the meal.

Prebranac – Baked Beans

Prebranac (also Gravče na tavče) is a traditional dish made of baked beans, usually eaten in the winter, and very common in Serbia (especially the southern part) and Macedonia. Prebranac is usually eaten around the winter holidays – especially the Christmas Eve – because it doesn’t contain any animal products, making it a good choice for the fast days. It is also commonly served at the Slava feasts that fall on the fast days.

Podvarak

Podvarak is a meal made of sauerkraut and meat. Podvarak is usually eaten in the winter. As it is prepared on a lot of animal fat, it is quite greasy. Dry pork ribs give the podvarak a very pleasant flavour. The meat used when cooking podvarak is turkey, pork or chicken. Podvarak is usually served with proja (a type of Balkan cornbread).

Paprikaš

Paprikaš (also Krompir paprikaš) is another meal that comes from Hungary. It is a potatoes and meat stew. The meat used for cooking paprikaš is usually chicken or pork. Paprikaš has the best taste when it is cooked in a large cauldron over an open fire.

Sogan dolma

Sogan dolma (or Stuffed onions) is a meal most commonly eaten in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its name is translated as ‘stuffed onions’ from Turkish.

Musaka

Musaka is another Balkan dish, one that originated in Greece and has taken different variants in the countries of the Western Balkans. It is a baked meal made of rows of potatoes and ground meat, such as pork or beef. Some people add eggs to the dish.

Breaded Peppers

Breaded peppers (or Pohovane paprike) is a meal made of baked sweet peppers. To make breaded peppers, you need to bake them in an oven, and then coat them; first in fluor, then in eggs, and at last in bread crumbs; after that, you fry them. Breaded peppers are often stuffed with cheese.

Mućkalica

Mućkalica is a picquant meal present in most of the Western Balkans. It is most common in Bosnia and Southern Serbia. The recipe varies on the region; however, it always contains meat (beef, pork, lamb or mutton), hot or sweet peppers and black pepper.

Škembići

Škembići is a meal most common in Southern Serbia. Many people call it ‘the kafana dish’ (kafana is a type of traditional cafe where mostly men come to drink and listen to traditional folk music), and also ‘a men’s dish’. Škembići are usually made of beef offal, which is why they are unpopular as a homemade meal, but quite common in the kafana.