Loading...Chicken Shawarma
Shawarma (Shawerma)is a classic Take-Away kebab made with fresh pieces of chicken, lamb or beef with a special blend of spices cooked on a rotating vertical spit. This is a dish we loved when growing up and is normally served as a wrap in soft pitta bread, accompanied with salad, roast peppers and tahini, humous or chilli as a sauce.
Shawarma is made in lots of different ways so we thought we would try out a simple home made version. Obviously we do not have a vertical spit or a kebab grill at home so we opted to cook our chicken shawarma on a griddle pan. The process is you first marinade the chicken in a blend of yoghurt and spices (with added peanut butter for additional flavour), then cook the chicken and assemble the shaawarma sandwich.
However we decided to “bulk it up” by further frying the cooked chicken shawarma pieces with onions, peppers and tomatoes. Another great way to make your own Shawarma is by using left over chicken from a BBQ. Simply slice it up and follow the steps below to get a great shawarma sandwich the next day.
- 1 tbsp spoons Greek yoghurt
- 1 tbsp smooth peanut butter
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp cinnamon powder
- ½ tsp all spice
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ ground cardamom powder
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 boneless chicken thights (or any bits of chicken..thighs are juicy and do not dry out)
- ½ Red Pepper, sliced
- ½ Yellow Pepper, sliced
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp chilli flakes (optional)
- 1 tomato, chopped
- Fresh Coriander, chopped
- Lime juice
- Wraps or round pitta bread
- Salad Leaves
- Tahini Paste
- Pickles
- Jalapeño peppers
- Chilli Sauce
- Mayo
- For best results marinade the chicken overnight
- Mix all the marinade ingredients together
- Add the chicken, cover and leave to marinade
- Take the chicken pieces out of the marinade and remove the excess marinade
- Sprinkle with additional salt on the outside
- Add a little oil to the pan
- Grill in a griddle pan (or under the grill) on a high heat for around 5-7 minutes until nicely charred and cooked
- Set aside to cool
- Add a tbsp of the tahini paste to a small bowl
- Add ½ juice of a lime or lemon
- Add a small amount of cold water and begin mixing the paste with the back of a spoon
- When the mixture thickens add a little more water
- Continue to mix until you have a smooth, creamy consistency
- Season with salt
- When ready add some olive oil in a frying pan
- Add the shawarma pieces and the onions
- Fry on a high heat and season with the cumin, paprika and chilli flakes
- Fry for 2 minutes then add the peppers
- Fry for 2 minutes then add the tomato
- Continue to fry until the peppers and onions are cooked and everything is coming together
- Taste for seasoning and add additional salt and pepper as required
- Add a squeeze of lime and fresh coriander to finish
- Heat your wraps according to their instructions
- Add some salad leaves and top with shawarma mix
- Drizzle with tahini, then wrap and enjoy
I have been making chicken shawarma for years now using a spice rub not unlike yours….but I have never thought of using yoghurt or peanut butter. What a marvelous idea! Must try it! Thanks for sharing!
This is the best