EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CHICKEN SHAWARMA.
DATE:13 FEBRUARY 2023
WRITER:micheal Chinedu
SHAWARMA HISTORY.
Shawarma is a Levantine Arab meat preparation, where lamb, chicken, turkey, beef, veal, or mixed meats are placed on a spit (commonly a vertical spit in restaurants), and may be grilled for as long as a day. Shavings are cut off the block of meat for serving, and the remainder of the block of meat is kept heated on the rotating spit. Shawarma can be served on a plate (generally with accompaniments), or as a sandwich or wrap. Shawarma is usually eaten with tabbouleh, fattoush, taboon bread, tomato, and cucumber. Toppings include tahini, hummus, pickled turnips, and amba. Similar dishes in the region include Turkish döner kebabs and Greek gyros.
Shawarma is an Arabic rendering of Turkish çevirme ‘turning’, in reference to the rotisserie-cooked nature of the meat, which “turns” around an axis. Similar naming conventions apply to the Turkish döner and the Greek gyro, both of which reference the turning action of the associated cooking mechanism.
Shawarma is made by alternately stacking strips of fat and pieces of seasoned meat on a vertical spit. An onion, a tomato, or a halved lemon is sometimes placed at the top for decoration. The meat is roasted slowly on all sides as the spit rotates in front of, or over, a flame for hours. Gas or electric heat is used; formerly, there was a cage holding burning charcoal or wood. Some restaurants offer two or more meat selections; many have just one.
The meat is shaved off the stack with a large knife, an electric knife or a small circular saw, dropping to a circular tray below to be retrieved. Shawarma is eaten as a fast food, made up into a sandwich wrap with pita or lavash together with vegetables and dressing. A variety of vegetables come with the shawarma which include: cucumber, onion, tomato, lettuce, eggplant, parsley, pickled turnips, pickled gherkins, pickles, rhubarb, cabbage, or French fries.
Dressings include: tahini (or tahina), amba sauce (pickled mango with chili), hummus, or those flavored with vinegar and spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Chicken shawarma is served with garlic mayonnaise, toumaia (garlic sauce), pomegranate concentrate, or skhug (a hot chili sauce).
INGREDIENTS FOR CHICKEN SHAWARMA
Chicken – I like to make Shawarma with boneless, skinless thighs as its juicier than breast. But chicken breast and tenderloin both work great.
Lemon juice – Fresh!
Olive oil – For a touch of flavour but also to dilute the lemon juice so it doesn’t “cook” the chicken.
Spices – Nothing out of the ordinary here! The only one you might not have in stock is cardamom, though these days its easily found at any grocery store. It has a piney, sort of citrusy flavour and it is a key ingredient that distinguishes the Shawarma marinade from other cuisines, such as Mexican, that regularly uses the other spices used in this recipe. In short, don’t skip it!
Spice control – The spiciness in the Shawarma marinade comes from the cayenne pepper. It’s not a key element of the flavour so if you don’t want it spicy, either reduce or eliminate it altogether. I promise you won’t feel robbed. Lots of other flavours going on in this dish!
HOW MAKE CHICKEN SHAWARMA
1. Cut chicken breasts and thigh to 1 ½ inch pieces. Set this aside
2. Preparing the marinade: Add the following ingredients to a mixing bowl.
1 ½ garlic clove minced about 1 large
1 ½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp cumin powder / jeera
¼ tsp all spice powder
½ tsp chilli powder / paprika
1/8 tsp turmeric
1/8 tsp cinnamon powder
Salt as needed
1/8 tsp pepper
3. Add chicken into the marinade. Seal the bag, removing excess air, then massage to coat from the outside. Leave to marinade for 12 to 24 hours in the fridge. If you’re pressed for time, even 3 hours will do!
4. Yogurt sauce – Make the yogurt sauce simply by mixing the ingredients then set aside for at least 20 minutes to let the flavours meld. This will keep for 3 days in the fridge.
5. Cook chicken either on the stove or on the BBQ. It will get a great crust on it from the spices, and you will adore the smell. It’s intoxicating!
6. Rest chicken for at least 3 minutes before serving to allow the juices to redistribute throughout the flesh, else they will just run out everywhere when you slice the meat.
7. To serve, just pile everything on a platter and let everybody make their own wraps! The chicken, lettuce, tomato slices, onion, yogurt sauce and warmed flatbreads – homemade or store bought. If the chicken is on the larger side, I sometimes slice it. But if they are smaller, I tend to just leave whole.
SERVING
Chicken shawarma is great to serve as a party appetiser or even as a meal if you wrap it up in pita bread, tortillas, naan or roti.
I have also shared how to make shawarma rolls. I made pita bread the same day to make the rolls.
You can also learn how to make 2 kinds of dips which you can either use as a dip or as a spread. Both have been loved by my kids at home.
For the rolls I spread the garlic yogurt sauce then placed lettuce and then the chicken shawarma. Wrapped it up to a shawarma roll. It tastes yum and no less than any shawarma you get in a good Middle Eastern restaurant.
Serve it as a appetizer or make a wrap. It can be served with a variety of sauces like Toum, Yogurt garlic sauce or Tahini sauce. I have shared the recipes of Yogurt garlic sauce & Tahini sauce below.
Making the garlic yogurt sauce. (Roughly adapted from food). This can be used as a dip or to spread on the wrap.
Add ¼ cup greek yogurt / hung curd, 1 tbsp minced garlic,salt, 1 to 2 tbsp olive oil and lemon juice (optional). Skip lemon if using sour yogurt. Mix everything well.
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