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Best Obara (stew) in Sydney

“Stew built from meat and organs, historically served at ceremonies—Slovenia's resourceful answer to the table.”

Obara (stew)

What the real thing tastes like

Obara (stew) is a Slovene national dish. It is a stew served as an independent meal, which is cooked from various kinds of meat and internal organs. It used to be served at various ceremonies, and it is a part of the traditional Slovenian cuisine. Especially good are obaras served with ajdovi žganci. Today obaras contain more vegetables. One type of obara is dormouse stew from Inner Carniola in Slovenia. Report was made by Paolo Santonino, Cancellar of the Patriarch of Aquileia in his travel diary (1485-1487). He reports of a lunch stop in an Inner Carniola household, where the farmer's wife quickly prepared a roast dormouse for hungry archbishop. Roast dormice were also used for soups, risottos and goulashes. Dormouse hunting was not appreciated only for meat, but it also supplied the hunters with large amounts of dormouse fur. Dormouse lard was also useful for medicinal purposes. It was used for healing bruised or broken extremities, upset stomach and rheumatism.

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Obara is Slovenia's answer to the resourceful stew—a dish built from whatever meat and organs the kitchen has on hand, simmered into something that demands to be eaten as a meal unto itself. Historically served at ceremonies and still anchoring tables today, it gains depth when paired with ajdovi žganci (buckwheat groats), though modern versions lean into vegetables for balance. One celebrated regional variant comes from Inner Carniola: dormouse stew, a practice documented as far back as 1485 when an archbishop's lunch stop yielded a quick roast prepared by a farmer's wife.

Order it here when it has

  • historically significant
  • versatile with proteins
  • pairs well with buckwheat groats
  • part of traditional cuisine

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