Friday, March 29
02:27 PM

The kitchen

23 Jun 2021 By RACHEL CHEW

With the curfew back in place I thought I would test out my culinary skills and try some Omani favourites. I’ve recently made lemon mint which was delicious but it made me feel a little sick just looking at the amount of sugar that goes into a drink. This week I decided to make my own shawarma. After a lot of research I found that there are LOTS of variations with different sauces, breads and spices, so I combined a couple or recipes and this is what I came up with.

Now, I know shawarmas aren’t the healthiest so I cut all the fat off the chicken, I swapped olive oil for fat free Greek yoghurt so that the chicken wouldn’t dry out. I also squeezed half a lemon on my mixture, despite the recipe saying to use Suac instead of lemon I thought both would be best for optimum flavour. 

After combining all the spices, yoghurt and chicken together I cut an onion in half and layered the chicken on top of half the onion using a wooden skewer and used the other half as a lid/hat and put in the oven at 200C for half an hour. 

I’m not going to lie I finish my show on Hi FM at 7pm so there was no way I was making my own pitta breads. I ummed and ahhed about what bread to use as some people use tortillas, pides and some even use paratha, but I went for a flatbread/pitta which is what most restaurants serve with their hummus. 

After quickly warming my bread on the microwave I layered it with a garlicky sauce; literally consisting of light mayo, garlic powder, fresh garlic gloves and black pepper, yes I may have overdone the garlic but it was banging. If you don’t wake up tasting garlic the next day after eating a shawarma have you even eaten one?

Now this is where people kick off as some say add red cabbage, some say pickles, I did both. I also included three chips which was super easy I literally cut up and part boiled a potato, tossed it in corn flour, salt and dry light [which is a healthy cooking oil replacement] and put in the oven for 20 minutes, topped with the juicy chicken and the onion this was a combination from heaven! 

Being the Tik Tok obsessed person that I am, I filmed a video and received some mixed reviews one guy said “Rachel!!!! I am Lebanese and I am a chef and what you have done is a crime Lebanese police don’t punish for.” So, I’m guessing he wasn’t happy. I want to make shuwa next, but I don’t have a garden so I’m not sure how to do this just yet. Feel free to send my suggestions @RachelBethanyChew on Instagram and Tik Tok.

 

FOR THE CHICKEN:

¾ tbsp ground cumin

¾ tbsp turmeric powder

¾ tbsp ground coriander

¾ tbsp garlic powder

¾ tbsp paprika

½ tsp ground cloves

3 cardamond seeds 

¾ tbsp suac 

½ tsp cayenne pepper, more if you prefer

Salt

8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 large onion, cut in half 

Half a lemon

Skewer 

3 Tbsp fat free Greek yoghurt 

FOR THE CONSTRUCTION

1 Potato 

Light mayo 

1 tbsp Garlic powder

Red cabbage

Pickles 

2 garlic cloves 

Pitta bread/flat bread/wrap 

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