Begova corba (the Bey's soup) is the rich Ottoman-Bosnian soup of beef or lamb, okra, parsley, carrot and lemon, finished with a roux to thicken.
Where to eat it: 4 restaurants across 1 city.
The soup's name attaches to the Ottoman Bosnian administrative class (beys, the regional governors); recipes appear in 19th-century Sarajevo cookbooks and were anchored in the Habsburg-era publication of Bosnian household kitchens. Dveri on Prote Bakovica and Inat Kuca on Veliki Alifakovac both work the canonical Sarajevo version with okra, lemon and a blond-roux thickening that distinguishes the Bosnian soup from its Turkish cousins.
Common allergens: Gluten
Tip from the editors. Use fresh okra if you can find it; frozen works but bring the texture down.
Dveri off Saraci in Bascarsija is the Sarajevo Bosnian institution behind a wood-shuttered facade, with a flowered courtyard and hearty lonac at every table.
Tip: Reservations are essential; Dveri is cash only and the rear courtyard tables are the ones to ask for in summer.
Inat Kuca in Kovaci is the Sarajevo Spite House, an Ottoman house moved across the Miljacka in 1895 and now a Bosnian restaurant for sahan and lonac.
Tip: Reserve a riverside terrace table for dinner; ask for sarajevski sahan to taste five Bosnian dishes in one tray.
Kibe Mahala on a Vratnik hillside above Bascarsija runs spit-roasted lamb and sahan platters for the locals who climb up for the Sarajevo dinner view.
Why locals love it: On a steep Vratnik hillside above Bascarsija, this Sarajevo Bosnian restaurant runs spit-roasted lamb to a 20-table room with a wraparound city view.
Tip: Taxi up; the cobbled walk is steep and the view tables fill at sunset.
Nanina Kuhinja's Kundurdziluk counter in Sarajevo serves Bosnian comfort plates the way a nana would, with sarma, klepe and lonac sold by the portion.
Try: Sarma, klepe and bosanski lonac counter
Tip: The counter at lunch is the easiest sit; ask for klepe with extra walnut and kajmak.
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