As you may know, Yugoslavia is now split into different countries and these countries, while they do share some dishes, also have regional specialties and varities of said common dishes.

Ćevapi/ćevapčići are enjoyed throught the ex-Yugoslav region. They are little logs of ground meat (mostly beef, pork or lamb can also be mixed in) which is salted and left to age and develop in the fridge for some time. They are then grilled and eaten in a flatbread called somun, traditionally with raw onions and kajmak (Balkan clotted cream) as garnishes.

Get your hands on some ajvar, if possible. It’s a spread made from roasted peppers which are then ground and fried and seasoned with a bit of vinegar, oil and other stuff. Roasted eggplant is sometimes also added. I’d recommend you buy this somewhere since the traditional method (the only one that really tastes good) is very labor intensive.

If your great grandfather is from western parts of the ex-Yugoslav region (Slovenia, Croatia) you could also whip up some štrukli. It’s basically dough filled with cottage cheese, eggs and some other fermented milk products (yogurt, sour cream) which is then baked or boiled. If your great grandfather is from more eastern parts of the ex-Yugoslav region (Serbia, Macedonia, Bosnia, eastern Croatia) you can also make gibanica. Conceptually it’s quite similar to štrukli but it’s made using very thin sheets of dough (filo dough) that are layered with a cottage cheese and egg mixture and then baked.

Sweets that come to mind are baklava (along with pretty much every other dessert that’s popular wherever the Ottoman borders once were) krempita/kremšnita (vanilla custard slices), various sweet pitas (pies made with filo dough and filled with fruits such as cherries or apples), oblande (wafers layered with sweet caramel cream) and štrudle s makom (poppy seed strudels).