National Shawarma day: Recipe to discover dish from the Middle East
And, to celebrate National Shawarma Day (October 15), you can re-create the dish at home with an authentic Israeli recipe.
Shawarma has its culinary origins in the Middle East, but has since been adapted by a variety of influences in Israel, and today, is one of the country’s most famous and delicious street foods. In Israel, shawarma is made from slices of seasoned meat cut from a vertical spit into a pita or wrap and is garnished with fresh Israeli salad, diced tomatoes, pickles, and typically served with hummus, tahini, or amba mango sauce.
Find the recipe below...
Serves: 4
Ingredients
500g (shawarma) turkey thighs – (boneless)
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Hide Ad1 tablespoon shawarma seasoning (or to make the seasoning from scratch, combine 4 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tsp cardamom powder and 50 grams of lamb fat, chopped (optional)
Pitta bread
Salad of fresh cucumber and diced tomatoes
Pickles
Chopped spring onions
Tahini
Shawarma Spice Mix - Shawarma spice mix can be found in most large supermarkets or Middle-Eastern supermarkets or can made at home using the below ingredients.
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cardamom (or cloves)
1 tsp ground coriander
1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 Tbsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (or 1/2 tsp ground black pepper)
1 – 2 tsp Baharat
Baharat spice mix recipe 1 tablespoon black ground pepper
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
1½ tablespoons paprika
1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Method
Preheat oven to 180 degrees
Season the meat with dry spice mix*
Place the seasoned meat in the hot oven for 25 minutes
While the meat cooks, heat a pan with a little olive oil and add lamb fat and season with salt
Remove the roasted meat from the oven slice
Mix the lamb fat and add the shawarma chunks to the pan
Season with the shawarma seasoning and a little cardamom and stir until cooked
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Hide AdOpen the pitas in two halves, add the freshly chopped cucumber tomatoes, season with salt, drizzle with a little olive oil and arrange the shawarma
Serve with tahini and chopped green onions
*for a real Israeli flavour add a little ground cardamom (even if you don’t have some of the other spices) and a little olive oil and massage it well.
For more information, visit: Goisrael.com