I was never much of a shawarma person. In fact, in my entire year of living in Israel, I don’t think I even ordered it once. I’m more of a falafel girl. Fully loaded in a freshly baked laffa – pure heaven.
But something interesting happens when you have kids. Picky kids. Kids who don’t like the BBQ marks on their grilled chicken, or the crumbs on their shnitzel. Kids who won’t eat fish. Or most types of meat. When you have such kids, you start to make foods that you never imagined you’d be cooking – like shawarma.
When said kid tasted a bite of my husbands shawarma and liked it (how he got her to do that is beyond me), I knew I had to learn to make my own. And that’s exactly what I did. The first couple of times, said kid was licking her plate. Now she has decided she no longer likes it. And I have decided, I do. How’s that for irony?
Chicken Shawarma
1.5-2 lbs. dark meat chicken
1 medium onion, finely diced
1/4 c + 1 tbsp olive oil, divided
2 tbsp shawarma spice (use a spice blend or recipe below)
salt, to taste
Method:
Dice the chicken into small pieces and place in a bowl with 1/4 cup of olive oil and shawarma spice. Set aside to marinate while you cook the onions.
Saute the onions in 1 tbsp of olive oil until caramelized. Add marinated chicken and saute until the chicken is no longer pink.
Serve with hummus, techina, Israeli salad, red cabbage salad (recipe follows)
TIP: Dice the chicken when it’s partially frozen to make chopping easier.
Shawarma Spice
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground coriander
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp black pepper
salt, to taste
Method:
Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix to combine.
Israeli-Style Red Cabbage Salad
shredded cabbage
olive oil
fresh-squeezed lemon juice
garlic powder
kosher salt
Method:
Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix until combined. Marinate until cabbage is slightly wilted.
Other Israel-Inspired Recipes:
roasted eggplants with Israeli salad
malawach cheese pastries with zaatar
chestnut hummus with pita chips
sachlav rose water pudding
banana, date, milk & honey smoothie
Do I marinade the chicken for a certain period of time?
I just marinate it while I’m preparing the onions, but you can let it marinate for longer if you’d like.
Interesting. I have never heard of that before, but it looks and sounds delicious! Kids’ appetites are a moving target not easy to hit. Just keep trying. :)
I’ve never heard of this, but it sounds really good. I’m going to have to try it.
I love Shawarma! I used to eat it when I lived in Vienna. There was a little israeli Restaurant which also served Sharwarma-to-go. One question: how do you make the bread for it? Thanks! Beautifully photographed! Cheers from Germany. Susanne
Hi Susanne, welcome all the way from Germany! The bread is called pita. I’m not much of a baker but if you look online I’m sure you can find a recipe. Good luck!
I LOVE shawarma but never tried it with chicken. I can’t wait to give your recipe a try!!
Hi from CCN! I love this. Will share over on my Tasting Jerusalem cooking community – come check us out. We are learning all about Middle Eastern cuisine through the lens of the “Jerusalem” cookbook. This month our ingredient is zhoug which would be perfect with this shawarma recipe!
Hi Beth, where can I check out your Tasting Jerusalem cooking community?
I made this for dinner last night. Delicious! So glad to have the idea and the recipe. Both the chicken and the cabbage salad were great!
So glad you liked them Lori, thanks for sharing!
I love shwarma and falafel, depends on my mood. Your recipe looks so simple and delicious, I will have to try this soon!
I’m also a falafel girl but I really appreciate the recipe. I’m positive it’ll turn me into a shawarma girl. Yum.
Looks INCREDIBLY juicy – my favorite part of shawarma!
I love this simple version of an classic Arabian dish!
Thanks Michael!
I have my shawarma made and went to tastespotting to find a dressing for my red cabbage and found this recipe. Then, I looked before closing the window and saw it was you. How funny. Happy New Year.
Thats so funny! I hope it was good! Happy New Year!
really great Arabian dish with good taste! I make this recipe in every weekday in occasions as well I have tried this recipe from madeeasy they have many recipes with new upgraded recipe of shawarma: https://www.madeeasy.com.pk/shawarma-recipe/
Delicious! I’ve made it in my home and use vertical broiler Shawarma machine to cook. Chicken turned out perfectly! Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe
so cool!