Nara kababi (sturgeon kebab)
Chunks of Caspian sturgeon grilled over embers and served with pomegranate narsharab — a festive dish of the Baku table.
Well-cooked hot dish
Ingredients
- sturgeon (or another firm white fish)
- onion
- salt
- butter
- narsharab
- lavash
How it is prepared
The fish chunks are briefly marinated with onion, threaded on skewers and grilled over embers, brushed with butter.
Food safety with low immunity
- Fish should be fully cooked: opaque and flaking easily.
How to prepare it during treatment
The fish must be fully cooked — opaque and flaking easily. Buy fish only from a trusted seller who keeps it chilled; sturgeon caviar is a raw product and is avoided during neutropenia.
Your diet during treatment is agreed with your doctor. Sample 7-day menu for the treatment period →
Storage
Refrigerate grilled meat within 2 hours and eat within 1–2 days. Keep raw and cooked meat in separate containers.
Reheating
In a pan, oven or microwave until the centre is steaming hot, not just warm.
Symptoms it may suit
- Low appetite. Gives a lot of energy and protein in a small portion — can help when appetite is low.
- Weight loss. Energy-dense and easy to enrich (oil, cheese, yoghurt) — can help with weight loss.
- Taste changes. Aromatic spices, herbs or a little sourness can help when food tastes bland or metallic (if there are no mouth sores).
These are general observations: what suits you can change from day to day.
Treatment phases
- Before treatmentmay suit
- During a coursemay suit
- Low counts (neutropenia)Freshly cooked and hotmay suit
- Between coursesmay suit
- After treatmentmay suit
Phase notes are general. During low counts, follow only your care team’s food rules.
If you have other conditions
- Heart disease, Obesity, Liver disease, Stomach and gut. Can be fatty. With heart, liver or digestive disease, or excess weight, discuss fat content and portions with your team.
- Kidney disease, Liver disease. Rich in protein. With kidney or liver disease, protein amounts are set individually — discuss with your team.
- High blood pressure, Heart disease, Kidney disease. Often salty (stock, salty cheese, sausage, pickles). With high blood pressure, heart or kidney disease, discuss salt limits with your team.
Nutrition (per 100 g)
Nutrition figures from a reliable source have not been added for this dish yet.
More from this cuisine
- Plov (saffron rice)
- Dolma (stuffed vine leaves)
- Dushbara (dumpling soup)
- Piti (lamb and chickpea stew)
- Qutab (thin filled flatbread)
- Dovga (yoghurt and herb soup)
- Kuku (herb frittata)
- Lavangi (walnut-stuffed chicken)
- Merji shorbasi (red lentil soup)
- Toyug shorbasi (chicken soup with noodles)
- Kufta bozbash (meatball and chickpea soup)
- Khash (slow-boiled trotter broth)
- Khingal (dough squares with fried mince)
- Kalam dolmasi (stuffed cabbage leaves)
- Uch baji dolmasi (stuffed aubergine, pepper and tomato)
- Shah plov (crown plov baked in lavash)
- Shuyud plov (dill and broad bean plov)
- Fisinjan plov (meatballs in walnut-pomegranate sauce)
- Sabzi govurma (lamb stewed with herbs)
- Turshu govurma (sweet-sour lamb with dried fruit)
- Lula kebab (minced lamb kebab)
- Tika kebab (lamb chunk kebab)
- Saj ichi (meat and vegetables cooked on a saj)
- Toyug bozartmasi (chicken stewed with onion and tomato)
- Toyug chighirtmasi (chicken with eggs)
- Jiz-biz (lamb offal fry with potatoes)
- Pomidor-yumurta (eggs scrambled with tomatoes)
- Sudlu siyig (milk rice porridge)
- Choban salad (shepherd salad)
- Motal cheese (skin-ripened sheep cheese)
- Ayran (salted yoghurt drink)
- Shekerbura (walnut-filled pastry)
- Pakhlava (Baku layered walnut pastry)
- Firni (rice-flour milk pudding)
- Dried fruit kompot
- Tandir bread
Related topics
Food safetyNeutropenic diet (low-microbial diet)PasteurisedCore cooking temperatureLeftoversCross-contamination
Sources
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Safer Food Choices for People With Weakened Immune Systems
- FoodSafety.gov (U.S. HHS). Cook to a Safe Minimum Internal Temperature
- USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. Leftovers and Food Safety
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Food Safety for Older Adults and People with Cancer, Diabetes, HIV/AIDS, Organ Transplants, and Autoimmune Diseases
- Food Standards Agency (UK). Chilling
- World Health Organization (WHO). Five keys to safer food manual
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Food Safety During Cancer Treatment
- National Cancer Institute (NCI). Eating Hints: Before, during, and after Cancer Treatment
- BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care, 2019. Neutropenic diets to prevent cancer infections: updated systematic review and meta-analysis
- U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). FoodData Central — Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies (FNDDS)