Chicken Shawarma
Chicken shawarma or any shawarma is one of my favorite things to eat. I wanted to make this recipe for a while but struggled with it, as it is quite difficult to make it at home absent the Restaurant equipment that makes the shawarma such an amazing delicious bite.
So after numerous trials and errors, I think we finally figured it out, and came up with this delicious homemade chicken shawarma version that covers all the basics, from the crispy chicken, to the Yogurtini (Yogurt+Tahini), to the absolute must Amba sauce, and ofcourse pickled beets and french fries. All tightly embraced by a home made Laffa flat bread, which is somewhat similar to an India Naan bread.
We hope you'll enjoy this recipe and get to appreciate shawarma that's made at home, in your own kitchen.
So...Let's do this
Ingredients:
For the Marinade
1lb (500gm) Mixed Chicken breast and Thighs
1 Tsp Kashmiri Chili Powder (or regular chili powder)
1 Tbsp Cumin
1 Tsp Coriander
½ Tsp Garam Masala
½ Tsp Smoked Paprika
½ Tsp Turmeric
1 Tbsp Paprika
1 Tsp crushed white pepper corns
1 Tbsp Fresh squeezed Lemon juice
¼ Cup Neutral oil
1 Tsp salt
The Garnish
1 Tbsp Amba
1 Tsp Zhoug
Pickled Beetroot
Tomato salad
Shredded Romaine
French fries
Cilantro chopped
Thinned Yogurt
*Full recipes for these items are available in the following Clickable links:
Step 1
The Marinade
In a bowl combine all the ingredients for the marinade
Add the chicken and mix making sure chicken is fully coated in marinade
Refrigerate for 3-4 hrs or overnight.
Step 2
The Bread
See recipe link: Pita / Laffa Bread
Step 3
The Condiments
See Amba Sauce recipe link: Amba Sauce
See Zhoug recipe link: Zhoug green chili hot sauce
See Tahini recipe link: Tahini sauce
See pickled beets recipe Pickled Beetroot
See French fries recipe French Fries
For the tomato salad, In a bowl combine:
Quarter 6-8 cherry tomatoes or 4 plum tomatoes
Peel and thinly slice 1 onion
¼ Cup cilantro
1 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
S+P to taste
Combine ingredients, mix well and set aside.
For the lettuce:
Wash then rinse well 1 heard of romaine lettuce
Chop Lettuce and transfer to a bowl
Step 4
The Chicken
· Place a pan over high heat (preferably a cast iron pan)
Wait for the pan to get searing hot, then add add 3Tbsp vegetable oil
As soon as the oil start shimmering, add the chicken skin side up
Make sure not to overcrowd the pan, cooking the chicken in batches if needed.
Sear the chicken, looking at the edges to brown (3-5 min), then flip and cook for another 2-3min.
Remove from pan and set aside, keeping the chicken pieces warm.
Step 5
The Set Up
· Slice the chicken on a bias into bite size pieces
Spread the flat bread with the Tahini, Amba sauce and zhough
Spread the shredded lettuce
Top with the tomato salad
Top with the chicken and pickled beets
Sprinkle with more tomato salad and French fries
Drizzle with Amba thin yogurt and Zhough and springle with
Roll, wrapping the bottom half in parchment paper
Bon Appétit
Link to Video Recipe