Shawarma - How to Make Shawarma with Chicken
Shawarma is a dish of stacked thinly sliced meat that is roasted on vertical spit-roasting (also known as Rotisserie) and it is eaten by using a long sharp knife to cut some thin shavings from the rotating stack of roasted meat for serving. The meat commonly used in classic shawarma recipes can be chicken, lamb, or mutton. In modern shawarma recipes turkey, beef, or veal (meat from a young cow) can also be used.
Servings 4 shawarmas
Calories 290kcal
Equipment
- Frying pan
Ingredients
- 2½ pieces chicken breasts
- 2 cups sliced tomatoes
- 1 cup sliced cucumbers
- 1 cup sliced onions
- 2 cups sliced lettuce
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Chicken marinade ingredients
- 2 tbsp yogurt
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp red chili pepper flakes
- 2 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- ¼ tsp cinnamon powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp cumin
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Shawarma sauce ingredients
- 1 cup greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp tahini sauce
- ½ tsp crushed garlic
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
How to make shawarma
- In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients for making the marinade, stir, and then bring in the chicken pieces. Make sure to cut the chicken pieces into small slices.
- Completely coat the chicken in the marinade and cover it with cling film and allow it to rest in the fridge for 24 hours or overnight. The longer it stays, the better the chicken would taste because the chicken would absorb the marinade, making it tasty when roasted or grilled.
- Place pan on the stovetop and add 2 tbsp of olive oil.
- When the oil is heated, add the sliced chicken.
- Grill the chicken on one side for 5 minutes and then turn it over to the other side and grill it for another 5 minutes.
- When cooked, remove the chicken from the pan, allow them to cool down a little, and then slice the chicken into thin strands. When done, keep them aside.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine 1 cup of Greek yogurt, 2 tbsp of tahini sauce, 1/2 tsp of crushed garlic, 1/4 tsp of black pepper, 2 tsp of lemon juice, and 1/4 tsp of salt. Stir until the ingredients are well mixed.
- Shawarma sauce can be made with mayo and some hot sauce (if you like it hot and spicy).
- Place your shawarma wrap over a clean tabletop. You can place the wrap over parchment paper.
- Next, add a handful of the roasted sliced chicken over the wrapper. The amount of chicken added would depend on the size of your wrapper. If it is wide, you can add more of the chicken pieces, or you can simply double the sheets to increase their width.
- Also, about 5 pieces of sliced cucumbers, 5 pieces of sliced onions, 4 pieces of sliced tomatoes, and some sliced lettuce. You should add the vegetables according to your liking and based on the size of the shawarma wrap you are using.
- Again, drizzle a tbsp of the sauce over the vegetables and 1 tsp of hot sauce (optional, if you need some heat).
- Now, fold the edges together and roll the wrapper into a cylindrical sandwich.
- Place a frying pan on the stovetop and add 1 tsp of olive oil. When the frying pan is heated, bring in the rolled shawarma, with the loose end facing down. Grill the shawarma for about 1 minute; this helps to dry the wrapper or the pita bread and prevents the wrapper from unwinding even when the shawarma sandwich is out of the pan.
- After a minute, flip the shawarma to the other side using a tong or flat spoon. Grill also for another 1 minute and then remove from the heat.
- Repeat the same process until you finish the wrappers and fillings for the shawarma sandwich.
Video
Notes
You can use pita bread or tortilla as your flatbread for wrapping the shawarma.