Chicken Shawarma
The Israeli street staple: boneless chicken thighs marinated overnight in baharat, garlic, turmeric, lemon and yogurt, then stack-roasted, sliced into pita.
Overview
Chicken thighs marinate 6+ hours in baharat, turmeric, paprika, cumin, garlic, yogurt, lemon, olive oil. Stacked or spread on a tray (the home shortcut), roasted hot 25 minutes turning once, finished briefly under the grill until charred edges. Sliced thin and stuffed into pita with all the accompaniments.
Ingredients
Marinade
- 1 kg boneless skinless chicken thighs (whole)
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 tablespoons natural yogurt
- 1 lemon (juice)
- 6 garlic cloves (crushed)
- 1 tablespoon ground Baharat
- 1 tablespoon ground turmeric
- 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
To serve
- 4 pita breads (large, warmed; split open)
- Hummus
- Salata (Israeli chopped salad)
- Pickled cucumbers (dill or sour)
- Pickled turnips (optional, pink lift)
- Tahina sauce (tahini + lemon + garlic + water)
- Amba (mango pickle, optional)
- Zhug (or sahawiq, chilli sauce)
Method
Stage 1 - Marinate
- Whisk all marinade ingredients in a wide bowl.
- Add chicken thighs; turn to coat thoroughly.
- Cover; refrigerate 6 hours, ideally overnight.
Stage 2 - Roast
- Heat oven to 220°C (200°C fan).
- Lay marinated chicken flat on a wire rack over a foil-lined tray.
- Roast 22 minutes.
Stage 3 - Finish under grill
- Switch to grill on high heat.
- Grill 4-5 minutes until edges are charred and the surface is darkly bronzed.
Stage 4 - Rest and slice
- Rest chicken 5 minutes.
- Slice thin against the grain.
Stage 5 - Assemble
- Open warmed pitas like a pocket.
- Spread hummus inside.
- Pile shawarma; top with salata, pickles, tahina sauce drizzle, zhug, amba.
- Wrap; eat.
Notes
- Thigh not breast: Chicken thighs stay juicy through the marinade and high-heat cook. Breast goes dry.
- High heat + grill finish: Approximates the charred-vertical-spit edges of street shawarma.
- Don't skip the amba: Mango pickle is the Israeli signature touch that distinguishes Tel Aviv shawarma from its Levantine cousins.
Storage
- Refrigerate cooked 3 days; reheat in a hot pan.
- Marinated raw chicken keeps 48 hours.
More like this
Sindhi Biryani
Mutton on the bone marinates for 2 hours in yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, ground spices (red chilli, turmeric, coriander, cumin, garam masala), mint, coriander and salt. Sliced onions fry slowly in oil to deep gold, then crispy, and drain on paper (some go in the marinade, some on top of the biryani). The marinated mutton browns; tomatoes go in; the meat braises for 45 minutes until tender. Basmati rice parboils with whole spices and salt to 70% done; drains. The layering: mutton at bottom, half the rice, fried onions and prunes and green chillies, the remaining rice, more onions, saffron-milk and ghee on top. Dum cook for 25 minutes sealed.
Jerusalem Mixed Grill
Chicken thigh, liver and heart sear hard in a wide pan with onions; spices bloom; everything cooks together until the meat is just done and the onions are deeply caramelised. Stuffed into pita with hummus, salad, tahini, pickles. The signature is the spice blend, cumin, turmeric, paprika, black pepper, cardamom, and the onion-to-meat ratio (a lot of onion).
Chicken Shawarma
Boneless chicken thighs swim in a yogurt-spice marinade for at least 4 hours. They roast hard at high heat for char, then rest and slice thin. The standard accompaniments are toum (garlic sauce), pickled turnips, parsley and warm pita.
Tandoori Methi Chicken Tikka
A flavorful methi chicken tikka combining fresh fenugreek with aromatic spices and yoghurt marinade. This recipe blends elements from various traditional preparations, resulting in a barbecue favorite with charred edges and tender, juicy meat.