Lahem Mishwi, Barbequed Lamb

Right about now, I'm remembering holiday weekends, so long ago, in Paterson, New Jersey. As a kid growing up in that urban environment, all I knew was the love of my family, cousins, neighbors of every nationality, languages all around me and best of all, the foods of my grandmother's Aleppo!

Lahem Mishwi

Sitto would be up bustling around the kitchen on those mornings, preparing this and that, with wonderful aromas coming out of the kitchen. Like every holiday weekend, she'd pack us a picnic basket. My uncles would put a grill in the car and off we'd go for that short trip up to Garrett Mountain.

As a kid, I often got carsick on long rides, but I'd smile when I knew it was the mountain, because that was so close to Sitto's Marshall Street house. We just about got-going and we were there! I couldn't wait to smell the grass, the trees everywhere and the Arabic music coming through those trees. So many people were already grilling and the wonderful aroma of grilled meats would greet us on our path from the car. You see, in those days, the newly arrived Syrians were plentiful and we pretty much "took over" the mountain in those days!

I always thought that Sitto's, most delectable, grilled meats on skewers were Lahem Mishwi!  We just called them “Mishwi.” The best part was that we each got a half of Syrian bread. Then we’d un-thread those skewers with those juicy charcoal-encrusted Barbequed Lamb cubes and enjoy them with some yogurt sauce!