Shawerma is one of the most popular street food options worldwide. This dish has everything you need for a satisfying meal: bread, meat, vegetables, sauce.
If you don't want to leave home, there's nothing easier than making it yourself. This article will give you easy and creative ideas to prepare the perfect shawerma at home.
Hacks for Making the Perfect Shawerma
- Choosing Meat: Choosing the right meat is a crucial step in making shawerma. While the original shawerma on the street is made from chicken, you can use any other meat, such as beef. For the best taste, choose meat with fatty streaks, so the shawerma will be juicy and flavorful.
- Marinade: It's best if you can marinate the meat for several hours or, preferably, overnight before cooking. For the marinade, you can use common ingredients such as garlic, onion, lemon juice, salt, pepper, curry, coriander, or any other spices. Mix all the ingredients together, coat the meat in the mixture, and leave it in the refrigerator for a few hours.
- Cooking the Meat: Sauce won't save meat that was cooked improperly. So it's important to know the right way to cook the meat. If lamb or beef is used for shawerma, it's best to place the meat on a vertical kebab so that its juices drip onto the layer of bread (lavash) on which the future shawerma will lie. Chicken and other types of meat can be cooked on the grill or in the oven.
- Bread: Once the meat is ready, the next step is acquiring the bread. Many opt for the familiar choice of lavash, but you can use any specific type of bread that suits your preferences. A good option could also be a thin tortilla made of flour, flatbread, or a plain sesame bun.
- Sauces and Fillings: Sauces and fillings are important components of shawerma, and any sauce can add its own flavor to it. Depending on your preferences, you can add any sauce, from simple mayonnaise to more exotic tomato-based or chili sauces. Fillings can also be varied, including vegetables, lettuce, French fries, cheese, etc.
Example Shawerma Preparation
Below is an example of how you can prepare shawerma at home. Please note that this is just an example, and you can modify the recipe to suit your preferences.
Ingredients:
- 500 grams of chicken shish kebab
- 1 onion
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1/2 lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 teaspoon of turmeric
- 1 teaspoon of paprika
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Lavash
- Lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, and other fillings
- Sauce of your choice
Preparation:
- Cut the meat into small pieces and mix together with a marinade of olive oil, lemon juice, turmeric, paprika, salt, and pepper. Leave the meat in the refrigerator for several hours.
- Cut the onion into rings and the garlic into small pieces.
- Take a vertical kebab and place the meat on it, with onion and garlic in between the meat.
- Place the resulting shawerma on a sheet of lavash, add vegetables and sauce of your choice.
- Lightly heat the prepared shawerma in a skillet or on a grill for better taste.
Your homemade shawerma is ready. Enjoy your meal!
Conclusion
Cooking shawerma at home is not only fun but also easy. You can experiment with the dish by adding sauces, new spices, and fillings. But remember, choosing the right meat and cooking method is the foundation of the perfect homemade shawerma. And don't forget to share your best recipes and hacks with friends and family.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How to make shawerma at home on a skillet?
To make shawerma at home on a skillet, you need to fry pieces of meat (chicken, beef, or lamb) over medium heat until cooked, adding spices such as curry, cumin, and coriander. Add sliced onion and garlic to the meat and fry everything together until the onion becomes translucent. Serve on lavash or thin tortilla, adding fillings and sauces of your choice. - How to make shawerma at home according to the market recipe?
To make shawerma at home according to the market recipe, you need to use a vertical kebab grill. Choose meat, preferably lamb, and place it on the kebab grill along with chopped onion and garlic. For sauce, you can use tomato sauce and plain mayonnaise or any other sauce of your choice. Add vegetables such as lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes, as well as the signature spicy pepper. Don't forget to wrap the shawerma in lavash or a thin tortilla. - How to make chicken shawerma at home?
To make chicken shawerma, cut pieces of chicken fillet and marinate them in a mixture of lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and cumin for several hours. Place the meat on a skillet and fry over medium heat until cooked. Cut vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers, and lettuce into small pieces. Serve with sauce, both tomato-based and yogurt-based, wrapped in a thin tortilla or lavash. - What sauce is suitable for shawerma?
You can choose the sauce for shawerma according to your preferences, but most often tomato sauce and mayonnaise are used either separately or mixed in a tomato-mayonnaise mixture. If you want a more exotic option, you can use sauces based on tomato or chili. You can also add yogurt sauce, which is made from Greek yogurt and finely chopped cucumbers with garlic and olive oil.