My Chicken Shawarma

I have been lucky enough to travel to some great places in the world, and when I do I always like to try the local food.  Whilst on this blog you can see some fine top end food I have had the fortune to have eaten, when it comes to it you can’t beat proper local food – and as such Chicken Shawarma fits that bill perfectly.

Memories of eating this for the first time from a street vendor in Turkey, years before it became a popular high street food in the UK, made me look for recipes a few summers ago when my wife wanted “something different” on the barbeque. Over the years I have tweaked and played with the quantities of spice and salts to get this just how we like it. I recommend this with any recipe you have and like – make it how you want it, there is no right and wrong!

Always best over the flames of a barbeque, but under a hot grill still does a great job, this is one of those recipes that is a crowd pleaser and my wife is always asking when we can have it again! Any food you can eat with your hands always tastes better right ?? Though if you prefer a knife and fork there is nothing wrong with that!

To top it all, it is a really simple recipe, that packs a lot of flavour – a “win win” for me. I often make a double batch of this as it freezes pretty well and reheats if a warm oven

 Ingredients – Serves 4 as main course – or more as part a Meze style meal

 1kg chicken thighs – skinless & boneless

 Marinade

1 x Garlic Clove, crushed – I have used garlic paste with no detrimental effect for ease

1 x tbsp. Ground Coriander

1 x tbsp. Celery Salt

1 x tbsp. Ground Cumin

1 x tsp Cayenne

2 x tsp Paprika

½ tsp ground black pepper

2 x tbsp. Lemon Juice – fresh or from bottle either fine

3 x tbsp. olive oil – plain olive oil is fine

Sauce

1 x Cup of Greek Yoghurt

1 x Garlic Clove, crushed – you can use paste here too but I think garlic clove is better in sauce

1 x tsp Ground Cumin

Squeeze of Lemon Juice

Salt and Pepper to taste

To Serve

Flatbreads – Wraps will do but flatbreads make this special

Sliced Lettice – Iceberg or Romaine is best

Sliced Tomatoes

Slices White Onion

Spray oil – optional 

Method

You need to marinade the chicken thighs, and this is best to be done 24hrs prior to cooking. It is not necessary to do it for that length of time, and I have made this with only a couple of hours in the marinade, but 24hrs – not longer – gives a better flavour.

Place all the marinade ingredients in a bowl – or if you prefer a large Ziploc bag – and combine together well. Then add the chicken thighs – whole – to the marinade, and ensure they are well covered all over by the marinade/ Cover with Clingfilm and place in the fridge to chill and the marinade to work it’s magic.

When I start making this on the day, I make the sauce first and then return it to the fridge to chill and mix together better – this is best done I feel a couple of hours before serving, but can be done up to 24hours . Again it is simple, just mix all the ingredients together well in a bowl and put back in the fridge until ready to serve.

When ready to cook take the chicken out of the fridge about 20-30 mins before cooking, to bring to room temperature.

I use a spray oil – readily available in supermarkets – to spray on the chicken prior to cooking, the side nearest the heat then again when turning. This is entirely optional but I feel it gives the chicken a better flavour.

–        If barbequing – place directly on the shelf oven the hot coals 

–        If grilling – place on a rack above a tray, preferably lined with foil

Grill/BBQ for approximately 5 mins, then turn the thighs over and cook the other side, spraying if using oil and cook for 3-4 mins. The actual time will vary based on the grill/coals  temperature but cook until the chicken is cooked through and nicely browned and charred, this adds to the flavour.

Remove from the heat, let rest for a couple of minutes and then slice the thighs into pieces ready to serve.

The Finished Dish

To serve, I use separate plates/bowls for the chicken, flatbreads, sauce and salad items and let people choose what they want of eat. Personally I prefer a smear of sauce on the flatbread, some of each veg and a pile of chicken…. Wrapped up and eaten with my hands… deeee-lish

My wife on the other hand prefers to eat “deconstructed” with knife and fork

Whichever you like – this is a great dish – so give it a try

The picture here shows bought flatbreads, for ease, to go with it… However we normally eat this with my own homemade flatbreads which take this dish to another level

See recipe here “My Flatbread”