How to Make Shawarma

Shawarma!!!! If you go to any street corner in the Middle East, you will most likely find a small food joint offering lamb or chicken shawarma. Chicken Shawarma is a classic Middle Eastern dish. Tender marinated chicken is roasted and stuffed into flatbreads with various sauces, vegetables, and pickles, often served with a side salad or French fries. What a great mix!!

This Chicken Shawarma dish will knock your socks off! A handful of common ingredients creates a fantastic Chicken Shawarma marinade that fills the chicken with distinct Middle Eastern tastes. The fragrance when this is cooking is incredible!

What is Chicken Shawarma, Exactly?

Shawarma is made from thinly sliced, seasoned, and marinated lamb, sheep, veal, beef, chicken, or turkey. Shawarma is a popular Middle Eastern Street meal cooked traditionally from seasoned meats placed on a vertical rotisserie and sliced thin as they turn. But do not worry we may fry ours horizontally in an old pan or on the grill! Shawarma was historically cooked with lamb, mutton, and chicken, but it is now also available with beef. It is generally served as a wrap, but in certain countries, it is served on plates with sides such as seasoned rice or fries, as well as salads. It have two possibilities for this dish!

Here's everything you need to create Chicken Shawarma. You already have most of the spices in your cabinet. For chicken, Its good if you prefer to cook Shawarma with boneless, skinless thighs since they are juicier than breasts. But chicken breast and tenderloin both work well.

• Lemon juice - fresh!
• Olive oil adds taste while also diluting the lemon juice so it does not "cook" the chicken (like we do with ceviche!).
• Spices are nothing out of the ordinary! The only one you might not have on hand is cardamom, which is now readily available at any grocery shop. It has a piney, citrusy flavour and is an important element that separates the Shawarma marinade from other cuisines, such as Mexican, which frequently include the other spices in this recipe. In short, please do not skip it!
• Spice controls like Cayenne pepper adds spiciness to the Shawarma marinade. It is not a crucial component of the flavour, so if you don't like it hot, reduce or eliminate it. This dish has a lot of different tastes!
• Shawarma is generally served with either tahini sauce (popular in Israel) or yoghurt sauce. If you want to use tahini sauce, try the one in this Roasted Broccolini recipe.

Ingredients

• Pat dry and cut chicken breasts or thighs into 1½-inch pieces. Set it away.
• Prepare the marinade: In a mixing dish, combine the following ingredients.
• 12 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.
• One tablespoon garlic chopped or grated.
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon paprika or red chilli powder
• One teaspoon cumin powder (ground cumin)
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander powder.
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamoms or allspice
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon powder.
• 1/2 to ½ tsp crushed black pepper
• One teaspoon of turmeric.
• Add 1½ teaspoon salt (to taste) and 14 to ½ teaspoon crushed black pepper.
• 2 tablespoons Greek yoghurt (optional, strained yoghurt; see notes)
• 1½ teaspoon lemon juice (optional)

How to Make Chicken Shawarma

• For optimal results, marinate the chicken overnight. The marinade's volume and flavour are robust enough that you can get away with marinating for at least 3 hours.
• Mix marinade Combine the ingredients in a ziplock bag for convenience. A bag works well since the chicken stays well coated in the marinade. If you want to use a container, either stir the chicken a few times or increase the marinade by half.
• Add the chicken to the marinade. Seal the bag, removing any excess air, and massage to coat from the outside. Allow to marinate for 12 to 24 hours in the refrigerator. If you're short on time, even 3 hours will suffice.
• With the yogurt sauce Combine the ingredients and set aside for at least 20 minutes to let the flavours mingle. This will be kept for three days in the refrigerator.
• Cook the chicken on the stove or the barbecue. The spices will give it a wonderful crust, and the aroma will be delightful and intoxicating!
• Rest the chicken for at least 3 minutes before serving to allow the juices to redistribute throughout the flesh; otherwise, they will flow out everywhere when you slice the meat.
• To serve, arrange everything on a dish and let everyone create their wraps! The wraps should include chicken, lettuce, tomato slices, onion, yoghurt sauce, and warm flatbreads (homemade or store-bought). If the chicken is on the larger side, I occasionally slice it. But if it's small, I usually just leave it whole.

How To Serve Chicken Shawarma

There are two primary ways to serve Chicken Shawarma.

Wraps

Chicken Shawarma wraps (similar to Gyros and Doner kebabs) are served with tomato, lettuce, and a basic yoghurt sauce on the side. Other optional toppings include red onion and cheese (ask about authenticity? But that's okay!!), hummus, and hot/chilli sauce.

Shawarma dish

Includes rice and salad on the side. Its normally serves pita bread or another sort of flatbread with a big dollop of either Hummus or the Yogurt Sauce in this recipe, just to keep it on theme. The Chicken Shawarma is shown below with Mejadra, a Middle Eastern lentil rice and a Middle Eastern Chickpea Salad.

Conclusion

In summary, Chicken Shawarma is a famous Middle Eastern cuisine recognised for its tasty and aromatic marinated chicken, which is usually cooked on a vertical rotisserie. This recipe provides a handmade version with a simple yet potent marinade with spices such as cumin, coriander, cardamom, and more. The dish can be served in wraps with a variety of toppings, or on a Shawarma platter with rice and salad. The accompanying yoghurt or tahini sauce improves the pleasure. Chicken Shawarma, whether eaten on the streets of the Middle East or prepared at home, is a delicious culinary experience that draws people together.