Lamb liver, tail fat, skewers and flatbread define the documented Diyarbakır preparation. Registration records, local interviews and a Kurdish vendor’s account show the dish’s ingredients, breakfast culture and connections beyond one city.

Grilled liver and fat on five metal skewers on a white plate, with parsley, red relish and sliced onions dusted with sumac in separate dishes
Ciğer kebap photographed by E4024 on 16 June 2015. The recorded camera location is Ankara. It illustrates a liver-skewer serving and accompaniments, rather than a certified Diyarbakır product or a documented Amed breakfast. © E4024 · 16 June 2015 · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0. Original photograph reused without creative changes.

The dish and its Diyarbakır name

Ciger şîş is liver grilled on skewers. The Diyarbakır (Amed) preparation, registered as Diyarbakır Ciğer Kebabı, lists lamb liver, tail fat, red pepper, salt, dried thyme, coriander and sumac, served with lavash. [1] Cutting and threading the pieces give this kebab its own preparation.

Cutting, threading and turning

The Culture Ministry’s Diyarbakır recipe describes cubing liver and tail fat, threading two liver pieces for each fat piece, adding seasonings after cooking has begun and turning the skewers frequently. It lists 500 grams of liver with 100 grams of tail fat. [2] The registration gives 150 grams of fat per 500 grams of liver and a long-skewer sequence of liver, fat, two liver pieces, fat and liver. [1] These are documented versions with different proportions.

How bread and vegetables complete the serving

The Diyarbakır record puts the skewers on lavash, covering them with additional bread to retain warmth; roasted tomatoes and pointed peppers are optional. [1] A neighbouring Urfa account describes taking the liver off the skewers into flatbread, with onion, parsley, mint and roasted pepper according to the serving, and ayran alongside. [3] These variations help explain why the same broad family of liver skewers can arrive at the table in different forms.

Breakfast is a documented local habit

DHA’s 11 January 2023 report records liver kebab as a breakfast choice in Diyarbakır. Trade representative Haşim Elkaan described consumption from early morning to midnight; customer Umut Ekin spoke about his own morning visit, while cook Ali Karabulut emphasised lamb liver. [4] Those voices place the dish within everyday city life, with specialists preparing it and customers returning regularly. They do not mean every resident eats liver each morning. The report’s business and consumption estimates describe its 2022 setting, rather than a current census of restaurants.

Diyarbakır and Urfa have separate records

Diyarbakır Ciğer Kebabı was registered as number 1130 on 31 May 2022. [1] Urfa Ciğer Kebabı has its own number, 323, dated 12 January 2018. Its specification highlights small lamb-liver pieces, tail fat, charcoal cooking and Şanlıurfa pepper; it associates the dish with breakfast, other meals and sahur. [3] These are two named regional specifications. Their dates document registration, not invention dates, and they do not turn one city’s record into proof that every related preparation belongs exclusively to one population.

Kurdish food knowledge also travels

A 964media interview published on 21 November 2025 follows Bakhtiyar Hassan, a vendor from Sulaymaniyah, serving grilled liver and other Kurdish-style meat dishes in Baghdad’s Zafaraniyah area. He describes an invitation from customers and a team drawn from both cities. [5] This is a concrete account of Kurdish street-food knowledge moving with a cook. It supports discussing Kurdish participation through named people and practice, while leaving room for neighbouring traditions. The accompanying photograph similarly has its own location and date: a 2015 Ankara serving, not evidence of an exclusively Diyarbakır recipe. [6]

Sources and further reading

  1. TÜRKPATENT, Diyarbakır Ciğer Kebabı, registration 1130, 31 May 2022; ingredient list, method and serving specification.
  2. Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Ciğer Kebabı – Diyarbakır, Culture Portal; local recipe record.
  3. TÜRKPATENT, Urfa Ciğer Kebabı, registration 323, 12 January 2018; ingredients, preparation, meal settings and accompaniments.
  4. Burak Emek and Yakup Altay, Diyarbakır’da 2022’de 2 bin ton ciğer kebabı tüketildi, DHA, 11 January 2023; interviews with Haşim Elkaan, Umut Ekin and Ali Karabulut.
  5. 964media, Sulaymaniyah street food vendor finds warm welcome in Zafaraniyah, 21 November 2025; interview with Bakhtiyar Hassan.
  6. E4024, Ciger kebap, 16 June 2015; Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, recorded location in Ankara.